


Tweek and Craig - The Creek Story

by Tweekheart



Category: South Park
Genre: M/M, creek - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-06-01 08:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15138875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tweekheart/pseuds/Tweekheart
Summary: The story of Tweek and Craig. They were united by the wishes of other people however friendship can sometimes blossom into something very sweet and magical. Creek





	1. What Now?

_This story takes place immediately after Tweek and Craig hold hands walking down the street in the episode Tweek X Craig (S19 ep 6)_

 

Chapter One – What now?

 

“Gah! So what do we do now Craig?” Tweek asked anxiously with a nervous twitch of his eye. Craig looked to his left and studied the boy walking next to him holding his hand. He noticed that yet again Tweek’s olive shirt had been incorrectly buttoned which resulted in a flash of pink skin being on show just above his waist.

Craig couldn’t imagine being so stressed out that he wasn’t even able to dress himself properly. Tweek’s blonde hair, unkempt and scruffy, was constantly falling across his face and Craig found himself fighting the urge to brush it aside.

He was jolted from his thoughts by a few sharp squeezes of his hand, the source of which he realised, was Tweek twitching awkwardly beside him.

“We could go to my house and play X-box?” Craig suggested as the boys waited to cross a busy road. Both noticed the occupants of the passing cars straining their necks to get a look at the latest attraction in the small mountain town of South Park.

“Okay man…that sounds…okay. Ngggh.” Tweek tried his best to fight back the uncontrollable noises he made when things were tense – which for Tweek was all of the time – but knew he was failing miserably.

Craig tugged at the flaps of his trademark blue hat with his free hand, making sure that none of his jet-black hair had escaped.

He wasn’t used to organising activities which involved more than one person. Although he would be considered one of the popular kids in school, Craig spent most of his time outside of school on his own. He preferred to spend time with his guinea pig Stripe than with other people. Stripe was easy to get on with and didn’t piss him off like everyone else did eventually.

Craig didn’t have much patience and because of this he had the reputation of being cold and emotionless at times. Despite this he was still one of the “guys” and was always welcomed as part of any group when he could be bothered to socialise.

As they got further away from the main part of town - and all the unwanted attention - Craig noticed that the squeezing of his hand, from each of Tweek’s nervous twitches, gradually reduced.

Craig had never really given much thought to Tweek’s erratic behaviour before and had always assumed that it was brought on by the large amount of caffeine he drank. It was very rare to spot Tweek Tweak without a cup of coffee in his hand. Because of this Craig had never felt any real sympathy for him but seeing (and feeling) him physically calming down the further from the crowds they got Craig began to realise that maybe it wasn’t just the coffee after all.

He wondered how Tweek coped with being constantly on edge and being afraid of every little thing. Craig was the opposite and people often wondered how he stayed in control of his emotions all the time. Even with everything that had happened over the last few days, Craig had remained calm and not lost his cool.

Tweek had never held anybody’s hand before, other than his mother’s. He never imagined that the first hand he held, other than hers, would belong to a guy and he certainly wouldn’t have believed it would be Craig Tucker’s! The only time they had ever made physical contact before was to fight!

It felt strange, especially with everybody watching their every move. But Tweek also didn’t find it unpleasant. It gave him a kind of warm feeling, being connected to another person, and he quite liked it.

As they made their way to Craig’s house Tweek thought about how crazy the past few days had been and how exhausted he felt by it all. All he wanted to do was go somewhere where there would be no staring eyes or whispering behind his back.

Tweek always tried to blend into the background and not draw attention to himself, that way there was less pressure. The last few days however this had not been possible, ever since the pictures started all eyes had been focused on him and Craig.

The enormity of having so many people invested in them was weighing down on Tweek and he wasn’t sure how much more he could cope with. He didn’t want any of this and for once wished that he was at work, in the back room of the coffee shop, trying to find the perfect new “summer blend” for his father.

As they arrived at Craig’s house and closed the front door behind them Tweek let out a huge sigh of relief and felt his shoulders untense as he leaned against the wall behind him.

He looked over at Craig who was stood across the other side of the room. A strand of his black hair had broken free from under his hat and as he ran a hand over his face he noticed this and hurriedly tucked it back under.

Tweek could see that Craig was just as relieved as he was to be away from all the prying eyes and he found it strangely comforting. He always felt so isolated and alone that to be sharing these feelings with someone else was a new experience for him.

As Craig turned around his eyes met with Tweek’s and he quickly looked away. Tweek thought how strange it was that the pair had been holding hands only moments before, but now they were alone it felt awkward to even meet each other’s gaze.

“Do you want something to drink?” Craig asked hurriedly as he made his way across the living room towards the kitchen.

“Oh God! I don’t know…Do you…have coffee?” Tweek asked with panic in his eyes. He hated being asked direct questions. His brain could never find an answer, even to something simple.

“No, my parents don’t drink it. We’ve got lemonade if you want?” Craig replied.

“Nnggghh! Okay…thanks”. Tweek could feel his anxiety starting to rise and tried to control his breathing. He couldn’t understand why he still felt so tense, it was just him and Craig here now, so the pressure should be gone. Why did he still have that churning, nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

As Craig disappeared into the kitchen Tweek wondered how he was going to survive the afternoon without his coffee fix.

Craig made his way into the kitchen and got 2 glasses for the lemonade. He felt bad as he had seen Tweek flinch when he told him there was no coffee. _It must be hard to be so dependent on something_ Craig thought to himself.

He poured the lemonade and watched as the bubbles jumped their way to freedom over the sides of the glasses. He wasn’t sure why but every time he thought about going back into the living room his stomach did a flip. It was the same feeling he got when he was riding the roller coaster at the amusement park and it was about to drop from the highest peak. He searched through one of the cupboards and found a bag of pretzels, he hoped this would make up for the lack of coffee in some small way.

As he slowly walked back into the living room he noticed that Tweek was still stood in the same position as when he had left, his eyes nervously darting around the room. Craig wasn’t sure why, but this made him laugh.

“You can sit down if you like” he chuckled “You don’t have to stand there the whole time”. Tweek’s cheeks turned red and he forced an embarrassed smile onto his face as he moved over to the sofa and sat down. Craig put the 2 glasses of lemonade and the bag of pretzels (which he had been carrying under his arm) down on the table and sat down next to Tweek.

The TV remote control and X-box controller were on the table next to the sofa on the other side of Tweek. Without thinking or hesitation Craig leaned across and grabbed the items. As he did so he was surprised by the clean, fresh scent that greeted him. He had never thought about what Tweek would smell like before but if he had been asked to guess then he would have said “bitter and probably a lot like coffee”. Without even being aware he was doing it Craig allowed himself another intake of Tweek’s pleasant aroma as he returned to his position on the sofa.

“Do you want to go first?” Craig offered, holding the controller out. As soon as the question had left his lips he saw the panic in Tweek’s face. His eyes darted from Craig’s face to the controller and then back again. No words came from Tweek’s open mouth, only those high-pitched squeaks that Craig was so familiar with. Craig pulled the controller back towards himself hoping that this would relieve the pressure he had unintentionally inflicted.

“Actually, do you mind if I play first?” he enquired trying to erase his original question “I’ve just remembered that I’ve got to a part on the game I’m playing that I really want to get past. Is that okay?”

“Yeah man, go for it” Tweek replied, giving a relieved and grateful smile. Craig loaded his saved game and began making his way through the latest enemy filled level.

After a few minutes of playing Craig was totally immersed. He was oblivious to everything else around him other than the images rolling across the TV screen. He eventually got to the end boss of the level and let out a long, exaggerated exhalation of air. He jumped slightly when a small voice next to him said encouragingly

“You can do it Craig”. He had been so engrossed in his game that he had forgotten all about Tweek! He thought how strange it was that he had been sat there, silently for so long.

Craig quickly turned to look at Tweek while the cut scene was still playing. His green eyes were fixed to the TV screen and he had a huge smile on his face. Tweek looked as excited as Craig felt on the inside. He had never managed to get this far on his game before and was surprised at how pleased he was to have someone to share the excitement with.

As the cut scene finished and Craig began the fight he leaned forward on the sofa and could feel Tweek do the same. It was common knowledge in the gaming world that if you leaned forward and moved along slightly with your character it helped.

After ten minutes of jumping, dodging and slashing, the hero raised his sword and swung for a final blow on the enemy. As the sword made contact the boss fell backwards and let out a dying scream and the two boys jumped up from their seats.

“Woo-hoo!!” Yelled Craig

“I knew you could do it!” Beamed Tweek who had never seen Craig this animated before. They both fell back onto the sofa, big grins on their faces and watched the scene of Craig’s victory against evil. When the hero vowed to continue his quest until all enemies had been vanquished Craig and Tweek both cheered and looked at each other with anticipation.

Craig continued to progress through the game but this time there was a difference from before. The shy, nervous boy who had been sat silently next to him was now happily chatting away and devouring pretzels.

Tweek was warning Craig of incoming dangers and reminding him to jump when the hero was approaching a hole in the ground. _We make a pretty good team_ Craig thought to himself as he allowed his eyes to leave the screen for a second and steal a look at Tweek who was shaking the last few pretzels free from the bag.

Craig suddenly realised that Tweek had not been twitching or making those nervous little noises for a while now. He had a different look on his face which Craig had not seen before. It took him a while to work out what it was - it was content.


	2. Dinner with the in-laws

Chapter 2 - Dinner with the in-laws

Before the boys knew it, the front door was opening, and Craig’s mother entered the house. They had been enjoying themselves so much that neither had noticed that it was now after 5:30 and starting to get dark outside.

As Mrs Tucker turned around to close the door behind her she caught sight of the two boys sitting together on the sofa. She couldn’t stop a smile from making its way across her face as both of their heads turned towards her.

“Hi boys!” She gushed enthusiastically as she made her way across the room. Craig immediately felt Tweek tense up and heard a high-pitched squeak escape from his mouth.

“Hi Mom” he replied in his monotone voice.

“HI!!!!” Tweek shouted, flinching at the sound of his voice. It appeared that the inability to control his volume had returned from its short vacation.

Mrs Tucker looked at the pale, dishevelled young man sat next to her son and had to stop herself from throwing her arms around him. She was delighted that Craig had finally found someone to share his time with other than that silly guinea pig. She worried about him spending so much time alone, it wasn’t right for a boy his age.

Mrs Tucker thought back to the day she had first seen the Yaoi pictures of Craig and Tweek at the local market. She had wondered how it was possible that she had not noticed that Craig had a boyfriend and had trawled her memory for times she had seen Craig and Tweek together, but nothing stood out.

On the walk back from the market that day several people had approached her and expressed how pleased they were for Craig and how proud Mr Tucker and her must be of him. She smiled back at them and thanked them politely, not stopping to engage in conversation.

When Mrs Tucker arrived home, she had sat down at the kitchen table and wondered how she was going to approach the subject with Craig’s father. Thomas Tucker was a kind and loving man, but he was also very stubborn and stuck in his ways. Finding out his only son might be gay was probably not going be something he wanted to hear.

Mr Tucker had also been approached by overzealous supporters of his son’s new relationship the same day that Mrs Tucker had seen the pictures at the market. At first, he couldn’t understand everyone’s praise and words of encouragement for his son, he wasn’t aware of any great accomplishment that Craig had achieved recently.

When it finally became clear what all the praise was for, Mr Tucker had felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Was it really possible that _his_ son was gay and if so how was he not aware of it?

That evening Mr and Mrs Tucker had a long discussion about how they were going to deal with the news. They decided that approaching Craig about the subject would not be the best plan as he was not one to openly discuss his feelings. The last thing they wanted was to make him feel uncomfortable.

Over the next few days they had noticed more interactions between their son and the Tweak boy, they were not sure if this was new or if they had just never noticed it before. Mr Tucker was never particularly welcoming of Tweek when he arrived at the house and would always begrudgingly point him in Craig’s direction - when all he really wanted to do was slam the door in his face.

Anytime that Craig was about to leave the house (other than to go to school) Mr Tucker felt a small flash of anger jolt through his body and it took all his willpower not to scream at his son to stay in his room and never see Tweek again.

The turning point for Mr Tucker had happened the day before the boy’s gaming marathon. His wife had received a phone call from Mrs Tweak advising that the boys had been spotted arguing at school and had apparently broken up.

Mr Tucker was ecstatic when he overheard his wife’s conversation. He couldn’t stop a huge grin of satisfaction from making its way across his face. He thought that maybe now all of this would go away, and Craig could find himself a nice girl to spend his time with instead.

He had been withdrawn from his thoughts by the front door opening. The smile slowly disappeared as he processed the image in front of him. Craig’s head was bent over, and his back arched as though he was carrying a very heavy weight.

Craig did not look up as he walked past his father and climbed the stairs to his room however Mr Tucker could see that there were tears threatening to fall from his eyes. The sight of his usually emotionless son so hurt and distressed broke his heart.

It had been instantly clear to him that he never wanted to see his son like that again and if that meant that he was in a relationship with another boy then so be it. That evening, in the most intimate discussion he had had ever had with his son, Mr Tucker gave his blessing to Craig to be with whoever he wanted and told him that he would always love him no matter what.

As Mrs Tucker looked at the two boys sat in her living room she assumed the talk between Craig and his father had gone well last night and this was the result. She had never felt so much pride and love for her family than she did in that moment.

“Would you like to stay for dinner Tweek?” She asked “Tricia is staying at her friends house this evening so there is a space for you if you want”.

A loud voice was ringing through Tweek’s head screaming _No, no, no, please say no…You don’t know how to talk to Craig’s parents!!_ however Tweek heard another voice saying

“O…okay, thank you” it took him a moment to realise that it was his own voice and that he had just agreed to Mrs Tucker’s invitation. _What is wrong with you?!?_ The internal voice said _This is going to be too much pressure!_

“I’ll call your mother and let her know. I’ll drive you home after dinner as well, I don’t want you walking home in the dark” Mrs Tucker advised as she disappeared into the kitchen to start cooking.

Craig was surprised when Tweek accepted his mother’s invitation, he had assumed that it would be too much for him and he would politely (and probably too loudly) decline. What surprised Craig more though was that he felt happy that Tweek had accepted. Sure, they had, had a nice afternoon but usually after this amount of time in someone’s company he was very eager to get away from them. What was it about Tweek that made him different from everyone else?

“Dude, you didn’t have to say yes if you didn’t want to” Craig advised turning to look at Tweek.

“I-it’s okay Craig” replied Tweek giving as much of a smile as he could manage “I want to stay”. Craig smiled back and the boys returned their attention to their game.

About 20 minutes later Tweek heard a car turn into the driveway and then footsteps approaching the house. There was only one-person due home now and he could feel his eyes starting to twitch at this realisation.

Tweek was terrified of Mr Tucker and had tried to stay out of his way as much as possible. The last time he had come over to see Craig to try and sort out what had been going on he had noticed Mr Tucker’s reluctance to even let him through the door. Tweek wasn’t sure how happy Craig’s father was going to be when he found out that he had to sit through a whole evening with him.

Tweek was unaware of Mr Tucker’s change of heart about the boys and the conversation that had taken place between Craig and his father the previous evening.

Mr Tucker took a deep breath as he prepared himself to walk through the front door. His wife had called him to let him know that Craig and Tweek appeared to have resolved the issues they were having and that Tweek was staying at their house for dinner.

Although Mr Tucker was willing to accept the new relationship his son had started, it was still going to be hard to get used to it and he had to admit that he was not looking forward to this evening at all.

Eventually he pushed open the front door. The boys were sat together on the sofa playing one of Craig’s video games. Mr Tucker realised that this was probably the first time he had ever returned home from work to find his son spending time with someone. He was usually shut up in his room either playing with Lego or talking to his guinea pig.

He couldn’t help but notice how nervous the Tweak kid was. He wouldn’t look Mr Tucker in the eye and was making small, high pitched noises every time his body twitched, which seemed to be increasing in frequency.

Mr Tucker felt a pang of guilt as he knew that it was probably his fault. He had made it very clear to Tweek – without actually saying the words - that he wasn’t welcome at the Tucker residence. Yet here he was, sat on the sofa playing video games.

Mr Tucker found that he had a new respect for Tweek, it must have taken a lot of courage to agree to stay for dinner, knowing how potentially awkward it could be. _I suppose_ _it shows how much he must really care about Craig_ he thought.

“Hey Dad” Craig said, his eyes not leaving the TV screen. He did not want to look at his father for fear of what he would see in his face. This was the first time his father had seen him and Tweek together since all of this had begun.

Although their talk last night had gone well Craig knew that Mr Tucker was still finding all this hard. He hated the fact that he was causing his father any pain, but he knew that he had no choice – his fate had been decided for him.

“Hi boys, how’s it going?” Mr Tucker enquired.

“I got past that part on my game that I couldn’t do before” bragged Craig “Tweek helped by looking out for enemies and stuff”

“Is that so?” Mr Tucker responded “You’ve been trying to do that bit for a while now Craig. It’s a good job you were around then Tweek”. At the sound of his name Tweek lifted his head for the first time since the front door had opened and looked at Mr Tucker who was smiling in his direction.

“Yes, Sir” Tweek replied, managing to keep his voice remarkably steady despite the terror and confusion he was currently feeling. He couldn’t believe that this was the same person he had felt so much hostility from over the past few days. He wondered what had changed and why Craig’s father was being so friendly.

“Well I’m going to go and see how your mother’s getting on with dinner” Mr Tucker advised as he made his way into the kitchen. Tweek turned to Craig with a look of confusion on his face

“Jesus! Why was he so nice to me? Aah…I thought he hated me!!”

“He doesn’t hate you Tweek. He just didn’t know how to deal with all…this” Craig motioned between Tweek and himself “He told me last night that he’s okay with everything now…it was…weird” Craig remembered how uncomfortable he had been when his father had sat on his bed the previous night and had been so emotional and honest. They had never had a conversation like that before and it wasn’t something Craig cared to repeat anytime soon.

Craig was glad that his father wasn’t like Tweek’s. Mr Tweak was what Craig would refer to as “Touchy Feely” and was always wanting to talk about “feelings”. Craig remembered the first time he had gone to Tweek’s house after this had all started and how over enthusiastic Mr Tweek had been towards him. He didn’t dislike Tweek’s parents, they were nice enough, but he was glad that he didn’t have to deal with them all the time.

Once dinner was ready Mrs Tucker called the boys through to the dining room and everyone took their seat. Tweek was relieved to see that the meal was simple and consisted of meat, potatoes and carrots. He had been worried that it would be something messy and he would make a fool of himself by getting food everywhere.

There was not much conversation throughout the dinner however the silences were not awkward. Occasionally Mrs Tucker would tell a story about something funny that had happened at the bank (where she worked) that day and they all laughed along with her.

Mr Tucker asked Tweek how his parents were and Tweek had advised that they were fine, but busy with the coffee shop – he had been careful not to speak with food in his mouth, so they didn’t think he had no manners.

Tweek observed that Mrs Tucker would occasionally glance around the table at each of its occupants and a small smile would appear on her face. He admired how pretty she was when she smiled and thought to himself that Craig must have inherited his good looks from her. He realised that he had just thought of Craig as “good looking” but didn’t allow himself to dwell on the thought as it made him feel like he was being weird.

After everyone had finished eating, Craig got down from his chair and started to clear away the plates. Tweek assumed that it must be routine for the kids to clear the dinner table and got up to help.

“Sit back down Tweek” advised Mrs Tucker “You’re our guest so you don’t have to clear away”

“It’s okay Mrs Tucker, I don’t mind helping Craig” Tweek replied amiably, grabbing the empty glasses from the table.

Mrs Tucker had decided during the meal that she liked Tweek a lot. On first impressions he appeared to be nervous, unsettled and distracted and it would be very easy to label him as odd and move on. However, she had noticed a few things this evening about Tweek that few people ever really took the time to see. Yes, he was all those things previously mentioned but he was also a thoughtful, caring young man. He was polite and friendly, and Mrs Tucker couldn’t think of anyone she would rather her son spent his time with.

Once the clearing away was complete Mrs Tucker told Tweek to get his things together and she would drive him home.

“Are you coming Craig?” she enquired as she was putting on her coat. Tweek shot Craig a look that he hoped was instantly recognisable as _please don’t leave me alone with people._ Craig laughed internally at this

“Yeah, I’ll come too” he replied only just managing to keep a straight face.

“Goodbye Tweek” Mr Tucker’s voice shouted from the kitchen “come by anytime, you’re always welcome”.

“Thank you, Mr Tucker” Tweek called back cheerily, unable to hide his joy at being made to feel so welcome by Craig’s parents.

As they made their way out of the house Tweek felt Craig’s hand wrap around his own. It took him by surprise and he nearly pulled away but then he remembered that this was “normal” now. Tweek admitted to himself that he was starting to enjoy the warm feeling of his hand being surrounded by another. When Craig let go to open the car door Tweek felt the disappointment creeping in and was grateful when Craig’s hand returned once they had both sat in the back seat.

Mrs Tucker did most of the talking on the way to Tweek’s house but Tweek did not hear a lot of it. It had been an exhausting day and he was struggling to stay awake. The motion of the car rocking him from side to side and the warmth from Craig sat beside him was not making it any easier.

Tweek jumped slightly and opened his eyes when the car came to a stop and he saw that they were parked outside his house. He turned his head to the side and saw that Craig was looking at him with an amused smile on his face

“Welcome back dude” he mocked, shooting Tweek a playful grin.

“Shut up Craig” Tweek whispered jokingly, hoping that it was quiet enough that Mrs Tucker didn’t hear. Tweek reluctantly let go of Craig’s hand and undid his seatbelt. He thanked Mrs Tucker for dinner and for driving him home and turned to Craig

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow I guess” he said not sure why he was feeling so strange again. It was clear that Craig was feeling just as awkward as he couldn’t meet Tweek’s gaze when he replied

“Shall we meet up outside school in the morning? We can go in together then.” Tweek agreed and said goodbye. He thought about how strange it was going to be walking into school tomorrow after the events of today. He didn’t know what to expect but at least if he was with Craig he wouldn’t have to deal with any of it alone.

Tweek watched the Tucker’s car disappear down the street and realised he was shivering from the cold. Mr and Mrs Tweak were sat in the living room watching TV when he walked into the house.

“Hello son!” Mr Tweak cheered “Did you have a nice time at Craig’s house? I hope you thanked his parents for having you over”.

“I-I-I did and I said thank you as well”

“Maybe next time Craig could come over here and he could have dinner with us?” Suggested Mrs Tweak hopefully. Tweek tried to picture Craig interacting with his parents and it made him smile. Mrs Tweak took this as a sign of agreement and started chatting excitedly about how much she was looking forward to spending time with her son and his new boyfriend.

Tweek looked at the clock hanging on the wall behind the sofa and saw that it was 8:25pm. It was still relatively early but he didn’t think he could keep his eyes open much longer. He told his parents that he was going to go to bed and assured them that he was okay when they looked at each other concerned.

Tweek changed into his night clothes and climbed into bed. He laid on his side and rested his head on the cool, soft pillow. Today had been the craziest day of his life and he couldn’t even begin to process all that had happened.

Just as he was about to drift off, his bedroom door opened and his mother entered the room. She walked over to him and ran a hand through his blonde hair.

“Good night Tweek” she whispered as she kissed his forehead softly.

“Goodnight Mom”

“Tweek?” She paused for a second and then continued “Are you happy?”

“Yes Mom, I am” he replied sleepily.

Mrs Tweak smiled and left the bedroom. Tweek fell into a rare, peaceful sleep realising that he had answered his mother honestly, he was happy.

Across town Craig and Mrs Tucker had arrived back home and Craig had gone upstairs to his room after saying goodnight to his parents. He closed his bedroom door behind him and walked up to Stripe’s cage

“Hey man, how’s your day been?” Stripe hurried up to the front of the cage and stuck his little pink nose through the bars. Craig had grabbed a few leaves of lettuce before he came upstairs and pushed them through the bars to Stripe. The guinea pig snuffled away as he munched on the green snack.

Craig switched off the light, climbed onto his bed and laid on his back, not bothering to change out of his clothes. He stared up at the stars and planets which were glowing brightly on his ceiling. He couldn’t believe everything that had happened since the last time he was laid here. It felt more like a week had passed, not just a day.

He closed his eyes and even though he was exhausted he couldn’t fall asleep. He had a strange feeling and couldn’t work out what it was. After a few minutes his eyes suddenly flew open and he sat up sharply. He had realised what the odd feeling was

“What the F-"…He was missing Tweek.


	3. School Nerves

As Craig opened his eyes the next morning all the events of the previous day came rushing back to him and he groaned. He was grateful that it was Friday and he only had to endure one more day at school before the weekend. However, he knew that today was not going to be a normal day. He was guessing that he would have to deal with a million questions about him and Tweek.

He could already imagine the comments he was going to get from Cartman about his new relationship status. Eric Cartman had a super power for sniffing out anything slightly different and then being as insulting and rude as he could about it.

Cartman had never been able to direct his venom towards Craig before as he had been very careful not to give him any ammunition. He could only imagine how happy Cartman was about all of this.

It was extremely tempting to just pull the covers over his head and try to cry off sick today but instead he dragged himself out of bed and got dressed. He flattened down his hair with his hands and then covered it with his favourite hat.

He realised he was checking himself in the mirror more often than usual. _Why do I care so much about what I look like?_ he thought. He had never cared about his appearance before. He shrugged it off and put it down to the fact that he knew there would be a lot of people looking at him today. With one final involuntary look in the mirror he left his room and went downstairs for breakfast.

The majority of the kids who went to South Park elementary caught the bus to school and back but Craig’s mother insisted upon driving him and his sister there every morning. It was on her route to work and she enjoyed the company of her children.

As Mrs Tucker stopped the car outside the front of the school that morning Craig scanned the area. When his eyes finally found what he was looking for he was relieved and said goodbye to his mother.

Tweek was standing by the side of the school pressed up against the wall. It looked to Craig as though Tweek was trying to actually melt himself into the wall in a bid to become invisible.

Craig departed from the car and made his way over to Tweek. As he got closer he could see that the blonde had his eyes closed and was talking to himself quietly. He couldn’t make out many of the words but heard the odd “Gah!!” and “Oh God!!” as he approached.

“Hey Tweek” he said in his dull, flat tone.

“Jesus Christ!!” Shrieked Tweek as his eyes flew open. His breathing was erratic and both of his eyes were twitching.

“Calm down Tweek, it’s just me” Craig said trying to make his voice soothing but as usual it just came out monotone. In spite of this it did seem to work. Tweek’s breathing slowed and his eyes were twitching less.

“Hi” was the only word that finally managed to escape from Tweek’s lips. A calm washed over Tweek as Craig reached for his hand and enveloped it with his own. Craig pulled him away from the wall and the two of them made their way towards the school entrance knowing they couldn’t delay this any longer.

As they made their way past a group of girls they heard a lot of “Aren’t they cute” and “How sweet” comments but didn’t stop to acknowledge them.

As Craig pushed open the doors to the school he looked down the long corridor lined with lockers and people. A low hush fell as the two boys made their way hand in hand towards Craig’s locker.

Craig’s locker was next to Clyde Donovan’s who, if Craig was forced to choose, he would say was his best friend. Clyde was stood by their lockers deep in conversation with Token Black. Craig felt tense as he approached them as he had no idea how the two would act towards him now.

Token was the first to see Craig and Tweek. He stopped talking and directed Clyde’s attention to the approaching couple. Clyde turned in their direction and smiled. Craig tried to work out if it was a “I am going to rip on you so hard for this” smile or just a normal “Hey man, nice to see you” kind.

As they got closer Craig could feel Tweek tense up again and his twitching intensified. Craig turned to him and said in a low voice

“Dude, chill out, everything’s going to be alright”

“Gah!!” shrieked Tweek “Oh God! I’m sorry Craig.”

Craig thought back to yesterday afternoon when the two of them had been alone in his house. It was as though he had been with a different person. The relaxed, fun and chatty guy he’d spent so much time with had disappeared and been replaced by a nervous wreck.

“It’s okay. Just calm down or you’re going to have a heart attack” Craig said, unconsciously squeezing Tweek’s hand as he spoke. This physical act seemed to slightly release Tweek from his cage of fear and he managed to force a small smile in Craig’s direction.

Tweek wasn’t sure how or why but Craig seemed to have a way of calming him down and making him feel more relaxed. It wasn’t what he said, it was more the way he said it. His emotionless tone seemed to remove any danger or terror from a situation.

When Craig looked at him with those serious blue eyes of his it felt as though nothing in the world would ever be able to harm him. Tweek was surprised at this last thought and how it made him feel, so he didn’t let himself think about it anymore. He turned his attention to Token and Clyde who they were fast approaching.

Craig was surprised at the lack of awkwardness he felt from his two friends. They greeted him and Tweek like they normally would and started up a conversation like any other day. Craig felt a massive gratitude to his friends and felt slightly guilty that he had not given them more credit.

After a few minutes of chatting Craig felt Tweek’s grip on his hand tighten, he turned to him and followed his gaze. Walking towards them down the corridor was Stan, Kyle, Kenny and…Cartman. _Here we go_ thought Craig. This was the moment he had been dreading since he first opened his eyes this morning.

The first thing Craig noticed was that Cartman’s attention was focused on his and Tweek’s interlocked hands. He had to fight the urge to raised his free hand and flip Cartman off but he somehow managed to resist. He did not want to instigate this fight.

The first five minutes or so after the other 4 boys had joined them were uneventful and consisted of more of the same everyday conversation that they had been having with Token and Clyde. Cartman was strangely quiet which was unsettling.

The conversation turned to what everyone did the previous night. Clyde and Token were bragging about destroying another team online last night when Cartman suddenly interrupted

“Didn’t see you online last night Tucker” he said with a small snigger. Craig waited a second before responding

“No, I wasn’t online. I was playing something else.”

“HA HA HA HA!! I bet I know what you were playing with” he screamed looking in Tweek’s direction. Craig noticed that Tweek’s cheeks were turning bright red and he could feel the irritation building inside him. He turned to Cartman – who was practically falling on the floor laughing – and was about to tell him exactly what he thought of him when he heard Kyle’s voice say

“Shut up Fat Ass!”. Cartman’s laugh died instantly as he looked around the group and saw that no-one else was laughing with him.

“B…b…but Craig…and…Tweek…so…gay” he managed to say, out of breath from his laughing fit.

“So?” questioned Stan “I don’t know why you’re laughing so hard lard ass. You haven’t ever had a girlfriend. For all we know you could be gay too”. This statement made everyone laugh. Craig noticed that even Tweek had allowed a small grin to appear on his face.

“Eh!! I could get a girlfriend if I wanted to” Cartman shouted, sulking at how quickly the situation had turned around on him. The sound of the school bell sent the whole group running towards their classroom. They didn’t want to have to deal with Mr Garrison’s snarky comments about them all being late.

As Craig sat at his desk he reflected upon how the morning had gone and was glad that it had been much better than he had expected. He never imagined that he would have so much support from all of his friends.

He looked over at Tweek who was sat on the other side of the classroom staring off into space. _Hmm, no twitching_ he thought as he returned his attention to Mr Garrison’s ramblings about some lame TV show.

When the bell rang for lunch all the students jumped up from their desks and ran out of the door, not waiting for permission from Mr Garrison to leave. The only one who did not move so quickly was Tweek. He took his time so that he could walk out with Craig who sat further away from the door than him.

As Craig reached Tweek’s desk he stopped and held his hand out for Tweek to take. Throwing his backpack over his shoulder Tweek quickly walked around the other side of the desk. He took hold of Craig’s hand and instantly felt that sense of reassurance he got whenever he was physically connected to him.

Just as they were about to enter the lunch hall Craig realised he had left his lunch money on his desk in the classroom. He shouted back to Tweek to go and grab some food and find somewhere for them to sit as he ran off to the classroom. Tweek felt his heart start to race as soon as Craig disappeared from sight but managed to slowly open the door to the lunch room.

The noise of so many people talking at the same time hit him as he walked through the doors. He felt stunned by it and walked towards the lunch line in a daze. He usually avoided the dining hall and opted instead to sit outside to eat his food in peace. But Craig had told him to come here, so he had.

He moved along with the queue robotically but with each step he felt worse. He started to tug at strands of his hair and could feel the panic rising inside him. _You can’t do this_ a voice screamed inside his head _It’s too much pressure._

Tweek turned around to make a quick exit from the lunchroom so he could find somewhere quiet to pull himself together. Unfortunately, he did not see the boy who was stood closely behind him and crashed straight into him knocking them both to the floor.

Tweek saw the other figure rise and tower above him so he decided the safest thing to do would be to stay on the floor with his eyes closed.

“Watch where you’re going idiot” he heard a voice shout down from the shadow above. He finally opened his eyes and saw a boy he did not know. He had seen him around school before but they didn’t hang out in the same crowd. The boy was wearing a tatty old jumper with a number of holes in it and would probably be the main challenger to Kenny in the “poorest kid in school” competition.

“Gah…Jesus…s…sorry…I…I” Tweek stuttered as tears started to form in his eyes. Before he could finish his trembling apology, the other boy started laughing. Tweek lowered his eyes back to the floor as he had noticed that the whole room had now gone quiet and was watching the drama unfold.

“Hey, you’re that spazzy gay kid, aren’t you?” he mocked, staring down at Tweek “Were you trying to touch me up or something?” he snorted, amused by his own joke.

He turned to look at his friends when he didn’t hear their usual laughter at his witty, intelligent comments. He saw that there was fear on their faces and they were looking past Tweek. The scruffy kid looked in the same direction and gulped when he saw what his friends were looking at. Stood behind Tweek was a very pissed off looking Craig Tucker.

One thing you learnt very quickly at South Park elementary was that you did not mess with Craig Tucker. He didn’t care about much and didn’t get involved in any of the drama but if you got on his wrong side then you would suffer.

“I…I…didn’t mean to…sorry man” the scruffy kid said quickly, apologising to Tweek who now had a confused look on his face. He had not seen that Craig was stood behind him and couldn’t understand why the kids attitude had suddenly changed. Tweek jumped slightly when he heard Craig’s low, angry voice behind him say

“I think you should go now”. Tweek had never heard Craig speak that way before. Even when he was annoyed his voice was always the same. Now it had a gruff, menacing tone to it that Tweek would have been afraid of if it had come from any other source.

The scruffy kid and the rest of his gang literally ran from the lunch room and when they had left everyone’s attention turned back to Craig and Tweek. Craig held out his hand to Tweek and helped him up. Tweek wiped frantically at his face embarrassed that a few rogue tears had escaped. When Craig saw this, he turned to the room of faces staring at them both and announced

“Tweek is off limits! If anyone messes with him they will have to deal with me and I will kick their ass!!”. The room stayed silent for a second but eventually the faces returned to their lunches and conversations began again.

Tweek looked at Craig surprised at the rare show of emotion. He felt a massive surge of gratitude inside him trying to escape. He was usually more than capable of defending himself but after the last few days he felt too exposed to do so today.

“Thank you, Craig” he whispered. Craig did not respond, he picked up Tweek’s backpack which had fallen off his shoulder and handed it back to him. Craig was annoyed with himself for losing control like that. He didn’t know what had come over him.

They both got their lunches and went to the table where all the usual gang were gathered. As they sat down Eric Cartman took a breath to say something about how gay that whole episode had been but as he looked at Craig’s face he thought better of it and just shoved more food into his mouth.


	4. Cruel, Cruel Summer

Chapter 4 – Cruel, Cruel Summer

The rest of that day and the next few months were uneventful. After the incident in the lunch room nobody had said anything negative towards Tweek or Craig. Even Cartman hadn’t bothered to get on their case too much - although he did seem to use the term “Your boyfriend” more than was really necessary whenever he mentioned Tweek to Craig.

Tweek spent more time with the gang now and got on especially well with Kenny. When Craig wasn’t there he always felt better if Kenny was. Tweek understood what it felt like to want to hide away from the world and was impressed by Kenny’s idea to do this behind the hood of his parker.

It was the last day of the school year and everyone was in high spirits. The gang were all sat on the benches in the school yard after the final bell had rung discussing what they would be doing this summer.

Tweek was jealous as he sat listening to everyone else’s plans because he knew that most of his summer would be spent stuck in his parent’s coffee shop working. Craig knew what Tweek’s summer would involve and sensing his sadness gently placed a hand on his back. Tweek flinched at the contact. This was new, they always held hands but other than that there was never any other kind of touching.

Tweek flashed a smile at Craig not wanting him to mistake surprise for dislike and remove his hand. Tweek liked this new development. He took a long look at Craig’s face and wondered how he was going to survive the summer without him. Craig’s family were spending the entire summer with his Aunt and Uncle who lived out of town. A lump formed in Tweek’s throat when he thought about it and he had to fight back tears.

Over the last few months Tweek had unintentionally become very dependent upon Craig. He was like a human safety blanket. Whenever Craig was around Tweek felt like a different person. He was able to hold conversations and not freak out when someone directed a question at him. He didn’t want to revert back to the old Tweek in Craig’s absence.

Craig knew how Tweek felt about him being away for the summer and he felt bad about it. If it was up to him he wouldn’t go, he would much prefer to stay here with his friends. He had already asked his parents if he could skip the trip and stay with Clyde instead but they had denied the request. They told him that he should be happy to visit his family and that they were all very excited to see him. Craig felt that this was a bit of a shameless guilt trip but had dropped the issue anyway.

Craig had spent most of his previous summers out of town and usually enjoyed the time away. It was nice to be able to spend time on his own without having to make excuses as to why he didn’t want to go and play basketball or join in any of the other activities organised by his friends. He didn’t know why he was so reluctant to go this year. There was only one difference in his life now but he wasn’t willing to admit to himself that that was the reason he didn’t want to go.

Everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways after getting off the bus back from school. Craig (who had now started to take the bus) and Tweek walked together towards Craig’s house. They walked slower than normal but neither of them acknowledged this fact. Tweek was trying to work out how he was going to say goodbye to Craig and somehow manage to hold it together. If he could just keep himself from falling apart until Craig had gone inside he could then cry all summer if he wanted to.

As they approached the Tucker residence Craig stopped walking and turned Tweek towards him so they were face to face.

“While I’m away don’t let anyone give you any shit Tweek” he instructed “I’ve told you this before, but you are capable of more than you think and you’ll be fine without me for a few weeks”. Tweek nodded in agreement but for the first time ever he didn’t agree with Craig. The pep talks had worked in the past but Craig had always been there to support him in whatever he was doing, this time was different.

Craig could see that his words were of no comfort to Tweek and without thinking took a step forward. He put his arms around Tweek, pulling the slightly shorter boy into his chest. He had expected some resistance and was surprised by how readily Tweek leaned into him. Craig rested the side of his head on top of Tweek’s and for a second was lost in the smell of his unruly hair. His mind flashed back to the first day he and Tweek had spent together playing video games. He remembered leaning over Tweek and indulging in the very same aroma.

Tweek never wanted to let go of Craig. He wished he could stay with his face buried in his chest forever. He felt safe, like he was surrounded by warm impenetrable walls. Tweek breathed in Craig as deeply as he could without making it obvious and admitted to himself for the first time that he loved him. He wasn’t sure what kind of love it was but he knew it was there and couldn’t deny it any longer.

Craig thought he heard a small whimper escape from Tweek as he pulled away from the embrace.

“You gonna be okay dude?” He enquired, looking directly into Tweek’s eyes. Tweek nodded and gave Craig a genuine smile. He felt as though the memory of this moment might be enough to get him through the next few weeks until Craig returned.

As Craig turned away and started walking up the path to his front door Tweek tried to steady his voice and said

“Goodbye Craig, have a great summer” Craig turned back as he was about to open the door and responded

“You too Tweek”. As Craig disappeared through his front door Tweek started to walk away feeling equal amounts of joy and sadness.

Neither of the boys had seen Mrs Tucker watching them from the living room window. She quickly moved into the kitchen so that Craig would not know that she had seen his emotional goodbye. After Craig had gone upstairs to his room she picked up the phone that was attached to the wall in the kitchen and moved the dial round. After a couple of rings, she was greeted with the words

“Hello, Tweek Brothers coffee, where every sip feels like a warm hug on a cold winters day. How can I help you today?”.

Craig had been sat in his room for the last couple of hours trying to cheer himself up by playing with Stripe. Since he had left Tweek that afternoon he had been miserable and more irritable than usual. Even Stripe’s adorable face couldn’t shake him out of this mood. He had considered calling Tweek and asking him to come over for a while but decided that they had already said goodbye and he didn’t want to have to go through that again.

His mother called for him to come downstairs so Craig gently picked up Stripe and put him back in his cage. A frown formed on his face when he saw his Mom and Dad stood by the front door with their coats on. Tricia wasn’t home this evening as yet again she was spending time with one of her many friends. She was the exact opposite of Craig and was extremely sociable.

“Come on honey, we’re going out for food tonight” Mrs Tucker said cheerily ushering Craig out of the front door. Craig couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do less than go out this evening. He had planned on eating his dinner in his room and watching Red Racer until he eventually fell asleep. He reluctantly made his way to the car knowing it was pointless to object.

As they pulled into the car park at Bennigans Craig’s heart sank. _We just had to come to the most over friendly, cheerful place in the whole of South Park_ he thought feeling irritated. As they walked into the restaurant his parents approached the lady stood at the front desk. Craig couldn’t hear anything above the sound of five or six staff members singing to a family sat at the table next to where he was stood.

Craig saw the person behind the desk point across the room and Craig’s parents started to walk in the same direction. Craig followed behind them looking down at his feet. _The service in this place really sucks_ he thought bitterly to himself _they don’t even show you to your seat anymore._

As they got further across the room Craig looked up and saw his mother waving to someone sat at the table they were approaching. Craig froze and his heart skipped a beat. Sat at the table was Mr and Mrs Tweak and in the corner of the booth sat across from them was a small, blonde figure fiddling with a napkin that was on the table in front of him. Craig somehow managed to gain control of his feet again and continued walking towards the booth trying to calm his now racing heart.

Tweek didn’t want to look up from his napkin as he was afraid that everyone would be able to see the sadness in his eyes. He didn’t know if he would be able to lie if anyone asked him if he was okay. He eventually raised his head when he heard someone approach the table. It took a moment for his eyes to register that it was Mr and Mrs Tucker stood in front of them and not the Bennigans waitress arriving to take their order. His attention moved to the figure stood behind them and he felt an explosion of happiness inside him when he saw the familiar blue jacket and chullo hat.

“Craig” he breathed.

“Hey Tweek” Craig responded managing to maintain his cool even though he had an unfamiliar feeling of joy inside him. Mr Tweak told Tweek to come and sit next to them so that the Tucker’s could sit together on the opposite side of the table. As Tweek moved past the Tucker’s to take his new seat Craig put a hand on his arm to stop him

“What’s going on dude?” questioned Craig, clearly confused by the whole situation.

“Jesus! I have no idea man. They…they…just told me we were going out to eat. They never said anything about you being here! Oh God!!”. Craig removed his hand from Tweek and everyone took their seats. Tweek thought about how this was the first time that the 6 of them had all been together. _Oh God! Please don’t do anything to embarrass me in front of Craig’s parents_ he silently prayed knowing what his parents could be like.

After the waitress appeared and took their orders the two pairs of parents engaged in the kind of polite conversation that adults always do until the food finally arrived. Tweek and Craig stayed silent throughout the entire meal listening closely to their parents talking. Each hoping that their own set of parents wouldn’t say something to make a fool out of them.

Once they had all finished eating and the empty plates had been removed from the table Mrs Tucker looked towards Tweek and Craig and cleared her throat

“Boys, we organised this meal tonight as we thought that we should all spent some time together, especially considering how close the two of you have gotten recently” she began “However, there was another reason we wanted to get together this evening as well”.

Craig cringed _What the hell are they going to say. Please god don’t let this be one of “those” talks. I might have to stab myself in the eye with one of these forks the waitress left behind_ he thought to himself dramatically. He looked over at Tweek whose eyes were darting around the room. It looked to Craig as though he was desperately looking for an escape route.

“Well Tweek” began Craig’s mother. A startled yelp escaped from Tweek’s mouth at the sound of his own name and his hands involuntarily reached towards his hair and started tugging. Mrs Tucker continued quickly seeing the discomfort the attention was causing him

“as you know we are going to visit Craig’s Aunt and Uncle for the summer and we are leaving tomorrow” she paused trying to see if Tweek had taken in any of what she was saying. Tweek could feel her eyes on him and realised she was expecting a response

“Gah! Y…yes I remember” he managed to reply.

“Well, I spoke to your parents earlier and they agreed that, if you want to, you are more than welcome to join us”. Tweek’s hand froze mid pull of one of the strands of his hair. Had Mrs Tucker just said what he thought she had? Tweek released the hand full of hair he was holding and studied Mrs Tucker’s face. He was waiting to see if she was about to start laughing at him before saying it was all a big joke and that she would never want her family to have to spend that much time with a freak like him. But looking into her kind, sincere face he realised that Mrs Tucker would never be that cruel.

Craig sat across the table with his mouth slightly open. He was relieved that the conversation hadn’t gone the way he thought it was going to but he hadn’t expected this. He had asked his parents one year if Clyde could come with him when they went away. Clyde’s mother had, at that time, recently passed away and he wanted to help him forget about it for a while. He always thought that his parents had said no because they didn’t want the extra hassle of being responsible for someone else’s kid. He hadn’t realised that they had actually refused because they knew that Mr Donovan would need his son with him during that awful time.

“Well Tweek, what do you say? Do you want to spend summer with the Tucker’s?” enquired Mrs Tweak. Tweek remained silent, however every single part of him just wanted to shout _Yes, yes, yes! There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted more in my entire life!_ but that paranoid voice was nagging at him again.

It was telling him that Craig wouldn’t want to be around him for the entire summer and if he agreed to Mrs Tuckers offer then Craig would be pissed off and probably never speak to him again. The thought of Craig hating him was overwhelming and caused Tweek to start shaking.

Tweek felt a sharp jolt as Craig’s foot connected with his shin under the table. He scanned the table and realised that everyone was looking at him, waiting for an answer. He wasn’t sure how long he had been immersed in his own terrifying thoughts but knew it was long enough for people to start to feel uncomfortable.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to” Craig said in an uninterested voice. Tweek felt his heart stop and was sure that it had broken slightly. _This must be Craig’s way of telling me he doesn’t want me to come_ he thought.

“but it’d probably be fun if you did” Craig said finishing his sentence and giving Tweek a reassuring smile.

Craig knew Tweek well enough by now to understand the battle that was going on in his head trying to come up with an answer. Tweek always made his decisions based on what he thought other people wanted him to do. But this was something that Craig wanted Tweek to decide based on his own feelings for once. If Tweek was going to spend the summer with him then Craig needed it to be because he wanted to and not because he thought he had to.

Tweek returned Craig’s smile and felt his heart start to beat again.

“I’d love to spend the summer with you all Mrs Tucker. Thank you” Tweek finally replied. No-one at the table had ever heard Tweek speak as confidently and without twitching as he did in that moment.


	5. New Surroundings

Chapter 5 – New Surroundings

Tweek was relieved that he had managed to survive the long car journey to Craig’s Aunt and Uncle’s house. As happy as he had been to be spending the summer with Craig and his family he had never felt this nervous before. New people, new house…new everything. He just kept telling himself it was all worth it to be with Craig.

It was starting to get dark by the time they arrived and when the car pulled into the driveway it’s headlights illuminated the large white house. It was 3 floors high and had big windows surrounded by shutters on either side. A wide set of steps led up to the larger than average front door.

Most people would have described the house as grand or impressive but the only word Tweek could think of was “Terrifying”. The windows were dark, menacing eyes and the front door had taken on the form of a large, hungry mouth waiting to swallow him up. His blood turned to ice when he saw that the mouth was opening. _Oh my God!! It’s gonna get me!!_ he screamed in his head.

Craig noticed straight away when Tweek’s breathing began to increase in speed. He looked at his face and could see, even in the dimly lit car, that it had much less colour than usual. His eyes were locked on the house in front of them.

Craig tugged on Tweek’s hand, which was resting inside his own as usual, and tried to draw his attention away from the house. When this didn’t work Craig gently put his other hand under Tweek’s chin and slowly turned his head towards him. Tweek’s eyes gradually left the house and met Craig’s.

The look of fear in Tweek’s eyes made Craig’s heart ache. He would give anything to be able to take the terror away. He was grateful that over the last few months he had seen this look on Tweek’s face less and less.

“Tweek, you need to calm down. I know everything must seem so overwhelming, but you can do this honey”. At the sound of the word _honey_ Tweek snapped out of his trance and began to blink again. Craig had never used that particular name for him before. Of all the things he had ever been called in his life, this was easily his favourite. It made him feel special.

Tweek told himself not to read too much into it. Lately he had to keep reminding himself that this “relationship” wasn’t real, and all the cute names and physical contact was just for show.

Tweek returned his attention to the house and breathed a sigh of relief. The monstrous eyes and mouth had now returned to their normal form and were just plain old doors and windows. A small group of people were stood on the front porch waving at the car.

Noticing that Tweek had calmed down Craig let go of his hand and got out of the car. _Honey?_ He thought to himself _Where the hell did that come from?_ The word had just tumbled out of his mouth as naturally as any other and it had surprised Craig as much as it had Tweek.

Craig walked to the back of the car and opened the boot. He grabbed their bags and made his way to the other side of the car. Tweek was still sat with his seatbelt fastened looking at the people stood on the porch. Craig opened the door and leaned across him to undo the seatbelt.

“Come on dude, I’ll introduce you to everyone” he said pulling Tweek from his seat. Tweek was reluctant but allowed himself to be led away from the safety of the car.

As they approached the house a young girl ran towards them and threw her arms as far as she could around Craig

“Craaaaaaaaaaig” she screeched. Tweek wondered if that was how he looked whenever he was excited to see Craig.

“Hey Liv” replied Craig, trying to prise his cousin away from him.

“I’m so glad you’re here we’re going to have so much fun I got a hamster and his name is James I love him so much, maybe him and Stripe could be friends, did you bring Stripe? I hope you did because I’ve missed him so much he’s sooooooo cute” the little girl had to stop to draw breath eventually and as she did she looked at Tweek

“Who are you?” she asked, in that very direct way only a child can get away with.

“This is my boyfriend, Tweek” Craig advised, no longer feeling uncomfortable having to refer to Tweek that way. Tweek made a small high-pitched yelp during Craig’s explanation and this made Liv laugh.

“I like you! You’re funny” she chuckled. At this point she looked behind the boys and noticed Tricia exiting the car. She ran full speed towards her yelling her name.

Tweek looked towards Craig, slightly shell shocked from the encounter with Liv.

“See, that wasn’t so bad was it?” Craig said dryly. He was grinning mischievously as he spoke and Tweek couldn’t help but laugh. He liked mischievous Craig.

The rest of the introductions were far more relaxed and Tweek made it through them in one piece. The household consisted of Craig’s Aunt Jenny, his Uncle Ron and Liv. Tweek couldn’t understand why they needed such a big house for just the three of them.

As they walked inside, Tweek assessed his new home for the next few weeks. His heart sank when he saw how many alcoves and dark corners there were for things to jump out at him from. All the furniture seemed to be on small feet so that everything had a gap underneath it. Tweek was certain that when he walked past them, hands would emerge and claw at his legs, grabbing him and dragging him under, never to be seen again. 

“I’ll show him where it is” he heard Craig say grabbing his hand and leading him towards a set of stairs. Tweek hadn’t heard a word that anyone had said prior to that and had no idea what it was that Craig was going to show him. On the way to the stairs Tweek made sure that he didn’t walk too close to any of the furniture so that he avoided the groping hands. Craig looked at him not understanding why he was pulling away from certain areas, but he was so used to Tweek’s peculiar habits by now that he didn’t dwell on it for long.

Once they reached the top of the stairs Craig opened the second door on the left and led Tweek inside. The room was very bright and pretty. The bed sheets were white with little yellow flowers and the curtains had the same design. The cream carpet was thick and deep and Tweek imagined that it would feel very nice to walk around in here barefoot. The lack of personal objects made it clear that this was a guest room and did not belong to one of the family.

“You didn’t hear what they said downstairs did you?” Craig asked. A frown formed on Tweek’s face as he replied

“No…Oh god!! I’m sorry Craig, I…I was worried they were going to grab me” He hadn’t intended to say that last part and saw concern appear on Craig’s face. He instantly wished he could take it back and quickly said

“Don’t worry about it”. He tried to give Craig a reassuring smile. Tweek always felt embarrassed when he fell back into his old ways. He didn’t want Craig to get annoyed with him and decide that he never wanted to see Tweek again. The problem was that when he started to think about Craig leaving him it made his anxiety worse. It was like a vicious circle.

“I’m going to tell you something and you need to stay calm” Craig said looking at Tweek’s already panic-stricken face. He wasn’t sure if this latest bit of news was going to push him over the edge. Craig was just glad that Tweek hadn’t been listening when his parents had told them.

“This is where you’re going to be staying while we’re here” he continued, talking slowly but trying not to be patronising. He saw Tweek look around the room and settle his eyes on the single bed. He turned to Craig and asked

“But where am I going to sleep?”

“You’ll sleep in the bed Tweek” Craig replied already predicting what the next question would be

“But…where are you going to sleep?” enquired Tweek fulfilling Craig’s prediction. Craig took a deep breath and said in the calmest way he could manage

“I’ll be sleeping next door, in the other guest room. Liv is sharing with her parents and Trish is in with my Mom and Dad”. Craig studied Tweek’s face for a sign of how he’d taken the news. It was only when Craig noticed that even more colour had drained from Tweek’s face that he realised he had stopped breathing.

“Tweek…dude…you need to breathe!” he instructed grabbing the blonde by the shoulders. Finally, he heard a sharp intake of breath and felt relief wash over him. He wouldn’t have known what to do if Tweek had passed out.

“Jesus!! I…I can’t sleep in here on my own!! I’ll die!!” shrieked Tweek, the volume of his voice increasing towards the end of his sentence.

“Do you trust me?” Craig asked suddenly.

“What?? What are you talking about?? Aaah!”

“It’s a simple question Tweek. Do you trust me?” Craig repeated. Tweek gulped down a breath of air and eventually responded, softly

“Of course I do Craig. I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone” Craig was taken aback by Tweek’s revelation. He hadn’t expected anything like that. He wasn’t even sure that he would be able to get an answer from Tweek considering the state he was in.

“Good. Now go and sit on the bed” he instructed. He had expected some argument but instead Tweek just walked over and climbed onto the bed. His large green eyes widened as Craig made his way towards the bedroom door.

“Where are you going?? Don’t leave me here!!” Tweek pleaded. Craig felt his heart aching for Tweek again. He got his phone out of his pocket and could sense Tweek watching him.  He pressed the screen a few times until the display showed the word _calling_. A soft piano tune started playing from across the room.

Tweek jumped when he felt the vibration in his pocket and heard the familiar sound of the ringtone he had allocated to Craig. He removed the phone from his pocket and pressed the accept call button. Even though Craig was stood in front of him, force of habit caused him to lift the device to his ear and say

“Hello?”

“Dude, you don’t need to say hello. You know it’s me calling you” despite the seriousness of the situation Craig couldn’t help but find this slightly amusing. Tweek could be such a spaz sometimes. Some people found it annoying but he thought it was quite endearing.

“I’m going to leave the room now, but I will still talk to you on the phone” Craig explained, moving the phone to the side of his head as he spoke so that Tweek could hear his voice coming from the phone in his own hand.

“O…okay” Tweek said into the phone. His confusion and curiosity of what Craig was planning had overtaken his fear for the time being. Craig turned around and left the room. After a second or two Tweek heard Craig’s voice through the phone but he sounded different. He sounded muffled as though he had his hand over his mouth

“This is lead space explorer Tucker reporting in to Commander Tweek, over” Craig made the noise of a walkie talkie hiss when he finished speaking. It took a second for Tweek to understand what Craig was doing

“What?? Y…you’re playing spaceman?? What the hell man??” he asked, perplexed into the handset.

“Have you caught space fever Commander? This isn’t a game! The fate of the world relies on the success of our mission!” Craig replied in a very serious manner. Tweek couldn’t help but laugh a little. He liked it when Craig let his guard down and didn’t care about being cool.

“Gah! You’re such an idiot” Tweek tried to scold but couldn’t hide the amusement in his voice.

“You’re just jealous that you’re not a world-famous astronaut like me!” Craig replied sounding equally as amused. There was a brief pause and then Craig asked

“Dude are you still on the bed?”

“Yes” Tweek replied.

“Put your ear against the wall behind the bed” he instructed and before Tweek could ask any questions he said “Don’t ask why, just do it”. Tweek stood up on the bed and cautiously put his left ear lightly against the wall.

“Have you done it?” Craig asked.

“Yes Craig” Tweek’s voice echoed in his head as he spoke. Without warning 3 loud thumps came from the other side of the wall right next to his ear.

“Waaaaaaah” Tweek wailed as he tumbled backwards in shock. Luckily, he somehow managed to avoid falling off the bed so his landing was soft. He heard footsteps run down the hall approaching the room and then Mrs Tucker calling up the stairs in a worried tone

“Is everything okay up there boys?”

“Yes Mom” replied Craig’s voice from the hallway. Craig entered the room and saw the small blonde laid on his back on the bed. Craig hoisted himself up and laid down on his side facing Tweek. He was surprised to see that Tweek had a slight smile on his face.

“I didn’t mean to scare you” he said seriously. Tweek turned over to face Craig not realising how close he was. There was barely any space between them now and Tweek could feel Craig’s breath on his face.

“It’s okay, it was quite funny I suppose” Tweek admitted widening the smile on his face. Tweek could imagining how stupid he must have looked flying back onto the bed like that.

_It’s a shame he doesn’t smile like this more often_ thought Craig _It’s kind of cute._ He quickly pushed the thought out of his head.

“I just wanted to let you know how close I will be” he explained, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable with how serious the conversation was getting “I’m right on the other side of that wall. I was sat on my bed when I knocked”. He had to admit though that he was willing to endure any amount of discomfort if he could help to alleviate any of Tweek’s anguish.

Tweek couldn’t look away from Craig’s deep blue eyes. It sounded corny, but it was like he was staring into two endless sparkling oceans. Tweek twitched slightly which caused a strand of shiny blonde hair to fall over his face. Before he had a chance to move it himself, Craig’s hand had reached up and brushed it away from his eyes. Craig’s little finger grazed across Tweek’s cheek as he did so and Tweek felt a shiver run through his body. They stared into each other’s eyes…

“Boys” Mrs Tucker’s voice bellowed up the stairs “Come downstairs, it’s time for dinner”. Tweek and Craig jumped up from the bed simultaneously, startled and feeling as though they really had been on a different planet.

“Last one downstairs is an asshole!” Craig challenged, turning to Tweek and giving him a huge, cheeky grin. They both ran out of the bedroom, shoving each other playfully to try and take the lead.


	6. The Last Day

Chapter 6 – The last Day

The rest of the summer went by in a blur. Behind Craig’s Aunt and Uncle’s house was a large forest which led to a lake and the boys spent many hours playing Super Craig and Wonder Tweek there. Occasionally they would let the girls join in but for most of the summer it was just the two of them saving the world over and over again.

After a few days of being at the house Tweek had become accustomed to his new surroundings. Craig noticed that as the weeks went by Tweek’s twitching and involuntary noises became less frequent, until they had eventually almost disappeared. It made Craig happy to see Tweek so comfortable and relaxed.

When their last day arrived, Craig could sense a sadness in Tweek. He felt the same way but as usual with Craig his emotions were not visible on the outside. Tweek had been silent while they were at breakfast that morning which was unusual as over the summer he had become quite a chatterbox. After everyone had finished eating Tweek excused himself, advising that he needed to get something from his room. Craig knew that something was wrong.

Craig waited for a few minutes and then quietly made his way upstairs and stood outside Tweek’s room. He put his ear to the closed door and was sure he could hear faint sobbing coming from inside. He felt a lump form in his throat. He hated hearing that Tweek was upset. He composed himself and entered the room.

Tweek lifted his head from the pillow sharply as he heard the door open. Through the tears he could make out Craig’s blue figure closing the door and walking towards him. Panic began to rise inside him _Oh God! Now he knows what a massive baby I am! When we get back he’s never going to want to see me again!_ he thought to himself.

He felt Craig sit down next to him on the bed. Tweek sat up and wiped his eyes feeling ashamed.

“What’s the matter?” Craig asked. Tweek sniffed and cleared his throat

“Nothing…it’s just…I can’t believe it’s our last day here. I don’t want to go home” he explained trying to keep the specific reason for his tears from escaping his lips. He had gotten used to seeing Craig’s face first thing in the morning and last thing at night. He wasn’t sure how he was going to cope with not being able to spend as much time with him. Just the thought of it made Tweek feel like he couldn’t breathe.

“I know, it only feels like yesterday that we arrived” Craig reflected and then smiled as he said, “but we’ve still got one more day here, so I think we should make the most of it”. Tweek studied Craig’s face searching for any sign of emotion. He felt a stab in his heart when he saw no trace of sadness or regret that their time together was coming to an end. He decided that Craig was right though, and he was going to enjoy the time they had left.

They spent the day doing the same activities they had done the rest of the summer. When Trisha and Liv asked if they could play super heroes with them Craig said no. Tweek felt bad for the girls but was pleased that he got to spend more time alone with Craig. They re-enacted some of their favourite scenarios where they had saved the world over the last few weeks. Then they sat listening to music and talking whilst throwing stones into the lake.

Before they knew it, Mrs Tucker could be heard calling them in for their evening meal. As they slowly made their way back to the house Tweek turned around and gave the lake and forest one last look. He wanted to be able to remember exactly what it looked like. This was his new safe space. From now on whenever he felt overwhelmed he would picture himself sat by the lake throwing stones with Craig.

Tweek wasn’t sure how long he had been stood staring back at the trees but knew it had been too long when he felt Craig’s hand take his and gently start to lead him away. As the forest grew smaller the further they walked away, Tweek’s sadness grew.

After everyone had finished eating and everything had been cleared away it was decided that because this was the last night they were spending together everyone would gather in the living room for a family night. Craig rolled his eyes and groaned which made everyone else laugh.

As they made their way into the living room Tweek pulled Craig aside and asked

“What happens on a family night?” Tweek’s family were not the gathering kind. In his house once they had finished eating and clearing away Tweek went straight to his room. It wasn’t that he didn’t get on with his parents he just enjoyed his own company in the evenings and he had the feeling that he parents liked the current routine too.

“It’s totally lame” Craig advised “We play games, sing songs and the girls usually show some stupid dance that they have made up. As I said…lame”. Tweek couldn’t help but laugh a little. He couldn’t imagine Craig sitting around singing and playing games with his family. The boys joined everyone and sat next to each other on the floor, Craig resting his hand on top of Tweek’s.

Craig’s aunt retrieved a number of board games from a cupboard on the other side of the room. As they started to play the first one Tweek noticed that Craig and his father were very competitive. When anyone landed on a square that meant they had to go back to the beginning or lose some tokens everyone made sympathetic noises and consoled them. If Craig landed on one of these squares however his father would say something like

“Oooh bad luck Craig, looks like you’re not going to catch me now” in return Craig would flip his father off making everyone laugh. If Craig’s father had to lose tokens then Craig would say something along the lines of

“Oh dear. Not many tokens left now Dad. You may as well just give up”. All the teasing was good natured though, and the rest of the family just rolled their eyes so Tweek assumed this was a regular occurrence. Tweek was envious of the relationship Craig had with his father.

Despite their competitiveness neither Craig or his father won the game, that honour went to Craig’s Aunt. Tweek thought that this was probably for the best as he wasn’t sure how Craig or his father would have coped with the other winning. Once the game had finished the girls jumped up and asked if they could perform their latest dance routine for the family.

They ran off to get into their outfits once the performance had been approved by the rest of the family. The four adults went into the kitchen to get some snacks and drinks leaving Craig and Tweek alone.

“Told you they’d do some kind of dance” Craig said smirking at Tweek. Tweek was looking across the room and Craig followed his gaze. Over in the corner of the room was an old grand piano.

“Do you play the piano Tweek?” Craig enquired sounding a little shocked.

For Tweek, the piano was the thing he loved above all else…until recently that was. When he played he was transported to another world and in that world he wasn’t considered a freak or a weirdo.

“Yeah. I started having lessons when I was little. My parents hoped it would help me concentrate better” he remembered the first time he had sat down and placed his fingers on the ivory keys. It had just felt right.

“Play something for me” Craig requested softly. He knew this was a huge thing to ask of the nervous blonde, but he really wanted to hear Tweek play. Craig was more than a little surprised when Tweek stood up without any objection and made his way to the piano.

Craig saw Tweek’s shoulders move up and down as he took a couple of deep breaths before his fingers started to glide along the piano keys softly. Tweek began playing a beautifully haunting melody which Craig recognised as Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. He only knew this because it had been featured in a video game he had played.

Craig moved so that he could see Tweek’s face. The transformation which had taken place was incredible. Tweek was so composed, relaxed and in control. _He looks beautiful_ Craig thought to himself. He continued to stare at Tweek in awe until the mesmerising music ceased and Tweek’s fingers left the piano.

“Tweek…that was…” Craig couldn’t find the words to express how he felt in that moment. Tweek turned to him, cheeks slightly pink with embarrassment.

“That was absolutely beautiful Tweek!” exclaimed Mrs Tucker. It was only at this point that the boys realised the whole family had returned and were stood behind them.

“Thank you, Mrs Tucker” Tweek responded feeling his cheeks burning even more now he realised that there had been a bigger audience than he thought for his recital. The rest of Craig’s family gushed their praise upon Tweek and he thanked them all. Eventually the girls asked if they could perform their dance and everyone moved to take their seats for the show.

Craig had stayed silent once the rest of the family had made their presence known. He was still in shock at what had just taken place. Had that magnificent person at the piano really been nervous, jumpy Tweek Tweak?

As Tweek sat back down on the floor he wondered why Craig hadn’t said if he had enjoyed the performance. Tweek scolded himself for thinking that something goofy like playing classical music wouldn’t impress someone as cool as Craig. He turned his attention to the two young girls who were now in full swing of their carefully choreographed dance.

The evenings last activity was singing. Craig’s uncle always played piano but offered the role to Tweek, once again praising his earlier efforts. Tweek politely declined and was sure he saw a quick look of disappointment flash across Craig’s face. _If he looks disappointed it’s probably because he wouldn’t have to hold your hand if you were playing the piano_ a voice sneered inside his head. Tweek tried to ignore the voice and joined in – quietly – with the singing.

After about half an hour of songs – which Tweek noticed that Craig artfully mimed singing along to - it was time for bed. Craig and Tweek said goodnight to everyone and made their way upstairs. They stopped outside Tweek’s room and stood in silence. Craig was staring down at the floor with a thoughtful look on his face. Tweek started to feel nervous. He wondered what he had done wrong and why Craig was acting so strange.

“Tweek” Craig began not totally sure what he was going to say next.

“Yes?” Tweek said despite his whole body being consumed by fear.

“…it’s been a fun summer” Craig felt disappointment in himself that this was all he managed to say.

“Oh, yeah, it’s been great” Tweek agreed smiling weakly.

“We should get some sleep. We’ve got a long journey home tomorrow. Goodnight”. Craig turned away from Tweek and walked into his own room closing the door behind him.

He didn’t know how to tell Tweek how he felt because he didn’t know himself. Craig knew that when he was with Tweek he was happy and when they were apart everything felt wrong and out of place.

He knew that feeling that way didn’t necessarily mean he had “those” sort of feelings towards Tweek but there had been other feelings as well. Like this evening when Tweek had played the piano. The rest of the world had fallen away and there was only Tweek. Nothing else had existed and if it had stayed that way for the rest of time Craig would have been content. _This is such a mess_ he thought falling onto his bed, hating how complicated his usually simple life had become.

Tweek closed the door behind him and took off his socks. He took his usual slow, barefoot walk across the cosy carpet and changed into his bed clothes. He felt miserable. He knew that Craig was about to break up with him a minute ago but had decided at the last minute to do it once they were home instead. That way he wouldn’t have to deal with an awkward car journey home.

Tweek switched the light off, climbed into bed and sat with the sheet over his head. He pressed the button on his phone and the light from the screen lit up his newly made sheet fortress. The picture on the home screen was of Craig and him. Craig had taken the picture when they had been by the lake a few weeks back. They both looked so happy and Tweek would give anything to go back to that moment.

He heard the rest of the family retire to their rooms and then the house was silent. He plugged in his headphones and pushed the shuffle button on his music app. Next, he clicked to open a game and began switching blocks around to complete the level. With his mind racing the way it was he knew there would be no sleep tonight.

Tweek had completed three levels and was close to finishing a fourth when a message notification popped up on his screen

_Craig: Don’t scream and wake everyone up but I’m in your room stood by the bed. I didn’t want to scare you._

Tweek’s breath caught in his throat and he saw a faint shadow on the other side of the blanket. He was glad he hadn’t seen that without any warning! But then an even more terrifying thought occurred to him _he changed his mind and has decided to break up with me now. He can’t even stand to pretend to be with me for one more night._

Tweek slowly pulled the covers away causing the light from his phone to light the room slightly. Craig’s face was illuminated with an eerie glow. Tweek removed his headphones and was confused to see that Craig was smiling.

“Hey dude. Grab your duvet and come with me. And I need you to be silent!” Craig whispered, that mischievous look of his making an appearance again.

Tweek opened his mouth to ask Craig what was going on, but he had already opened the bedroom door. Tweek grabbed his duvet and followed Craig into the hallway.

They made their way downstairs as quietly as possible and Craig closed the living room door behind them. He pressed the button on his phone to switch on the flashlight and the room lit up. Tweek had a puzzled look on his face and asked

“What’s going on Craig?”

“Look, we’ve both had the best summer and neither of us want it to end”. Tweek was surprised at this revelation. He didn’t know that Craig felt the same way he did about their trip. Up until a second ago he was sure that Craig was bringing him down here to break his heart.

“Anyway” Craig continued “it’s our last night here and we should make the most of what’s left. We can sleep anytime, so let’s stay up all night watching movies”

“I like the sound of that” Tweek beamed. Craig had already been downstairs and had placed his quilt and pillow on the sofa. He made his way over to it and laid down making himself comfortable. Tweek dropped his own quilt down on the floor next to the sofa as the only other seats were single chairs.

“What are you doing?” Craig asked looking at Tweek with a puzzled look on his face “you don’t have to lay on the floor, you can go down the other end. Bring your quilt and pillow up here”. Tweek realised at this point that he had only brought his quilt down with him.

“I…I didn’t bring a pillow Craig” he admitted, hoping he hadn’t ruined everything “shall I go back up and get it?”. Craig smiled reassuringly

“It’s my fault. I only told you to bring your quilt. Don’t go back upstairs, someone might wake up and we’ll be busted. Just put your quilt on mine and you can lay up here and share my pillow”. Tweek threw his quilt on top of the other inadvertently covering Craig’s head at the same time

“Hey!” Craig whisper-shouted in a pretend angry voice. Tweek laughed and put his hand over his mouth to stifle the noise

“Sorry Craig” he chuckled as he climbed under the covers. Craig had moved himself so that he was lying with his back against the sofa and had created a space in front of him that Tweek settled into.

Craig had the TV control in his hand and switched on the TV. He already had his finger on the volume button, so the sound quickly reduced to a level that couldn’t be heard outside the room. Craig browsed the menu for something to watch and his eyes lit up when he saw a zombie film was just about to begin.

“You okay watching this?” He asked. Tweek read the title and synopsis. It sounded like the kind of thing he would usually avoid but didn’t want to appear like a baby to Craig so just nodded.

Craig selected the film and moved so that his head was slightly higher than Tweek’s, that way he could see the TV. The new position also had the added bonus of being able to smell Tweek’s hair every time he breathed in through his nose.

Tweek could feel Craig’s breath on the top of his head and found the slight movement of his hair with each exhale comforting. After about twenty minutes Craig whispered into Tweek’s ear

“Can I put my arm over here?” he gently touched Tweek’s side “I can’t find a comfortable place to rest it”. Tweek was certain that Craig must have been able to hear his heart pounding in his chest at this point.

“Sure” was the only word he was able to form. He felt Craig’s arm fall gently over his waist and rest on his stomach. Tweek felt electricity running through his body where Craig was in contact with him.

Just as Tweek’s attention went back to the TV a zombie hand emerged from a grave and the female actress gave a blood curdling scream as it grabbed her leg. Tweek jumped and involuntarily turned around, burying his face into Craig’s chest. He felt Craig’s arms tighten around him and stroke the back of his hair.

“Want to watch something else?” Craig asked, feeling guilty that Tweek had been scared. He should have known that horror probably wouldn’t be his favourite type of film.

“No, I’ll just listen to it. It’s not scary if I can’t see what’s going on” Tweek said, slightly muffled by Craig’s chest.

“Okay. Let me know if it gets too much and I’ll switch it off”. Craig felt Tweek nod in agreement. Craig returned his attention to the TV and wasn’t even aware that he was still caressing the back of Tweek’s head. Tweek however was aware and felt a peace inside him that he had never known before.

Craig knew that Tweek had fallen asleep about half an hour later. His breathing was slower and deeper and occasionally the lightest of snoring noises would come from him. Despite this Craig had not released his grip on the slightly smaller blonde and admitted to himself that he enjoyed the physical contact. Feeling Tweek’s body against his own made everything feel warm and safe.

When the movie finished Craig reached back for the control so he could see what to watch next. Even though Tweek had fallen asleep Craig didn’t want this night to end. He felt disappointment wash over him as Tweek rolled away slightly. He was now laid on his back but remained asleep. Although Tweek was no longer wrapped in his arms Craig was now able to see his face and was glad of the chance to be able to just look at him.

Tweek’s face was soft in the dim light of the TV and he had the slightest of smiles on his face, as though he was having a wonderful dream. Craig couldn’t help but smile himself. This was the exact moment that Craig Tucker finally admitted to himself that he was in love with Tweek Tweak.


	7. Home Time

Chapter 7 – Home Time

Craig opened his eyes and it took a moment for him to remember where he was. He could see through the curtains that it was beginning to get light outside. He realised that he must have fallen asleep and it was now nearly morning. He listened to see if he could hear any movement in the house over the sound of the TV and was relieved when he heard nothing.

Tweek’s head was resting on Craig’s chest and his arm was stretched across his mid-section. Craig looked down and even though he could only see the top of Tweek’s head he couldn’t help smiling. He had always thought that feeling nothing was the smart way to live. _Keep things simple and life will be bearable_ that was what he always told himself. But he was feeling something now and he was surprised to find that he liked it. It was as though a massive weight had been lifted from him after he had admitted his feelings last night, even if it was only to himself.

As Craig reached for the control to switch off the TV Tweek rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. He looked from side to side unsure of his surroundings and then finally settled his gaze on Craig’s face next to his.

“Oh no! I fell asleep!” Tweek said feeling disappointed in himself. He remembered being wrapped in Craig’s arms enjoying the warmth and the next thing he was waking up a moment ago. The disappointment didn’t last long though as he remembered falling asleep surrounded by Craig and how it felt to have the person he loved most in the world so close to him.

“So did I” confessed Craig, smiling across at Tweek “We should probably go upstairs before anyone gets up”. Tweek reluctantly agreed wishing that he could stay here with Craig forever. The boys gathered up their things and crept back upstairs. Tweek opened the door to his room and turned around

“Thank you, Craig” he said in a hushed voice. Confusion appeared on Craig’s face

“What for?” he asked, not sure what he had done to deserve any thanks. Tweek placed his duvet on the floor inside his room and embraced Craig, explaining his thanks with 3 quick words

“For fixing me”. As he finished speaking he released Craig, turned around and closed the bedroom door behind him. Craig walked into his own room and climbed into bed. He fell asleep wondering what everything would be like once they got back to South Park.

After saying goodbye to Craig’s Aunt, Uncle and Liv the Tuckers and Tweek piled into the car and began the long journey home. Tweek looked out the rear window as the house disappeared into the distance. He could never have imagined how wonderful this summer would be when he had arrived those few weeks back. He turned back around and closed his eyes afraid that if they stayed open tears may begin to fall. After a few minutes he felt Craig’s head rest on his shoulder and the two boys both drifted off to sleep. Mrs Tucker looked in the rear-view mirror and saw a look of happiness on Craig’s face that she had never seen before.

The boys woke up when the car came to a stop. Tweek panicked as he looked out the window. _Oh God! We can’t be home already!_ He was relieved to see that they were just at a rest stop. He wasn’t ready to be torn away from Craig yet.

“Do you want to get out and stretch your legs for a minute boys?” Mr Tucker asked looking back over his shoulder. Craig still had his head resting on Tweek’s shoulder and couldn’t think of anything worse than having to move.

“I’m good” he replied lazily stretching his legs out as far as he could.

“Me too” agreed Tweek who was enjoying being Craig’s pillow. Tricia went with the adults to the restrooms while Tweek and Craig stayed in the car. After a moment Tweek broke the silence

“Craig-Gah!” he was surprised at the return of an unwelcome, involuntary noise and an embarrassed flush covered his face. At the sound of Tweek slipping back into his old ways Craig opened his eyes and sat up knowing that something must be on Tweek’s mind.

“What’s up babe?” He asked, trying to hide his concern.

“When we get back, will we still see each other as much?” The sadness in Tweek’s voice made Craig feel as though someone had punched him in the chest. He wanted nothing more than to reassure Tweek, but he knew he couldn’t lie

“It won’t be as much as it has been these last few weeks” he admitted and saw sadness darken Tweek’s normally bright eyes “but it will be as much as we can. When we can’t get together we can always FaceTime”. Tweek nodded, relieved that Craig appeared to want to spend time together as much as he did.

Tweek got his phone and headphones out of his rucksack not wanting to continue the conversation for fear of becoming upset.

“Do you want to listen to music?” He asked, offering Craig one of the headphones. Craig accepted the offer and placed the headphone in his ear, returning to his position on Tweek’s shoulder. Tweek leaned his head against the top of Craig’s and allowed himself to be swept away by the music.

When Tweek saw the first sign for South Park he wanted to scream at Mr Tucker to turn the car around and never bring him back here. He didn’t spend enough time with his parents to have missed them over the summer. It was sad, but the truth was that Tweek’s parents had always prioritised their business above their son. They loved Tweek and when they did spend time with him they were kind and caring. Unfortunately, this just didn’t happen as often as it should and Tweek had spent too much of his time alone.

When the car eventually pulled up outside Tweek’s house he thanked the Tuckers for letting him spend the summer with them. He realised that it wasn’t just Craig that he was going to miss spending time with. He had grown close to Craig’s family over the summer and didn’t even get those nerves in his stomach when he was with Mr Tucker anymore.

Tweek got out of the car and grabbed his things. Mrs Tucker unclipped her seatbelt and exited the vehicle. She put her arms around Tweek and hugged him as tight as she could – which was difficult with all his bags in the way.  

“Don’t be a stranger Sweetheart. You’re part of the family now” she advised feeling herself getting a bit teary “Craig why don’t you walk Tweek up to the door, just to make sure he gets in safely”. She knew her son well enough to know that he wouldn’t want an audience to what could be an emotional moment. Craig got out of the car and grabbed one of Tweek’s bags to lighten his load.

As they reached the front door Craig handed the bag back to Tweek wondering what he was possibly going to say to the boy he now realised he loved. Craig was not used to having to select his words so carefully, he had previously just said whatever was on his mind, which usually wasn’t very much. Finally, he said

“I really did have a great summer dude” he was disappointed with his effort.

“Me too” Tweek replied blinking back tears. He wanted to tell Craig how much he going to miss him and that he was no longer sure if he could breathe without him by his side, but the words would not come out.

“I’ll call you later, okay?” Craig advised as he started to walk away.

“Okay”. Tweek was about to walk through the door when he heard Craig call his name. He turned around and thought he must have imagined it as Craig was still walking away and not facing him. But then he heard him say

“You fixed me too you know”. Before Tweek could even register what Craig had said he was in the car and it pulled away. Tweek walked into the house and closed the door. _What could I have possibly fixed about Craig?_ he thought to himself _He’s perfect._

Tweek stood in the living room and became aware of the silence. He realised that he was on his own. Slight disappointment swept over him as he had briefly hoped that one of his parents might have stayed home from work to welcome him back.

He walked into the kitchen and automatically reached for the coffee jug. His hand stopped just before he made contact with it. He hadn’t had a single drop of coffee while he had been away. The first few days had been hard but Craig had managed to keep his mind off it. Craig had told him one day that he liked Tweek better when he hadn’t been drinking coffee and the words rang back through Tweek’s head. He left his kitchen without coffee for the first time in years.

He made his way upstairs and went into his bedroom. This room had always felt so safe to him and was somewhere he could escape to – his sanctuary. But now it felt different. It was cold and empty, and the silence was unbearable. Tweek walked over to his stereo and switched it on. He hadn’t spent much time on his own over the last few weeks and was afraid that in the silence he might start to hear the voices again.

He laid on his bed and closed his eyes. He wasn’t tired at all, but he wanted to relive the summer while it was fresh in his memory. He started thinking back to that first day and how scared he had been about meeting everyone. He replayed all the times Super Craig and Wonder Tweek had saved the world and finally he thought about that last night.

Tweek remembered how he thought his heart was going to break when he was sure that Craig was breaking up with him and then the relief of realising that wasn’t happening. He tried his hardest to remember what it felt like to be wrapped in Craig’s arms but it all felt like a beautiful dream now.

Tweek wasn’t sure how long he had been laid on the bed, but it was beginning to get dark. He opened his door and called downstairs but there was still no-one home. He started to empty out his bags and sort through his things. After a while he realised something was missing. He rechecked all the unpacked items but still couldn’t find what he was looking for. He pulled out his phone.

Across town Craig was laid on his bed watching TV. He couldn’t wait to get Stripe back from Clyde tomorrow. The one good thing about being home was getting to see his little face again. Stripe might also help to fill the hole that he felt in his heart. Craig had always enjoyed his own company, actually he preferred it, but that had changed now.

Craig heard his phone buzz on the bedside cabinet and sat up to reach it. He looked at the screen and saw a message notification. A warm feeling built up inside him when he saw who it was from

_Tweek: Hey man, sry 2 txt u so soon but I can’t find my Wonder Tweek sweater and I was wondering if u packed it by mistake?_

Craig looked over at his unpacked bags and the piles of clothes he had made. He started typing a response

_Craig: Sorry dude, I’ve unpacked and it’s not in my stuff. I’ll check with my aunt and uncle next time I speak to them. Don’t worry tho, we can make you another one : - )_

He clicked the send button. A few seconds later his phone buzzed again

_Tweek: K, thx : - D_

Craig put his phone on the side and laid back down. He reached his hands under the pillow and pulled out what was beneath it. He pressed Tweek’s sweater to his nose and breathed in. He felt a little bit bad for lying to Tweek, but it was worth it to have a small part of the person he loved with him.


	8. Civil War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay in posting this. I've been in the process of moving house and have been super busy :-)

Chapter 8 – Civil War

Craig was true to his word once they were back in South Park. The two boys spent as much time together as possible and became regular visitors to each other’s homes. They understood why their parents did not allow sleepovers but couldn’t help being disappointed at not being able to spend more time together, they were best friends after all.

Neither of the boys had attempted to tell the other how their feelings had developed over the last few months in fear of how they would react. The possibility of losing each other was just too much to risk.

Tweek had gone through the scenario in his head so many times now that he had lost count. In every single case the outcome was not good. It ranged from Craig laughing at him to Craig being so angry that he punched Tweek straight in the nose whilst telling him he never wanted to see him again. Tweek had such a low opinion of himself that it never once occurred to him that Craig could ever feel the same way.

Craig had also considered how it might go if he told Tweek the way he truly felt. He couldn’t see him reacting any other way than freaking out. He knew that Tweek didn’t deal with things too well and was worried that he would run off and avoid him for the rest of their lives.

Since they had been back in South Park there had been a few moments where the boys could feel “something” between each other. It was an exciting, nervous kind of tension and happened in moments that were completely unexpected. Their eyes would lock onto each other’s and it would feel as though they were having a conversation without speaking. Eventually one of them would look away and the moment would be gone.

It was a Saturday afternoon and the two boys were laid on Tweek’s bed watching an anime series they were currently into. Tweek had his head resting on Craig’s chest and Craig was twirling Tweek’s hair around his fingers. Neither had ever questioned the physical contact they made, each assuming it was just because they felt so comfortable with each other. There was rarely a time when they were together that they were not holding hands or leaning into each other. Even when they sat together in the cafeteria at school their legs were resting against each other’s under the table.

Tweek couldn’t concentrate on anything that was being said on the TV programme, all he could hear was Craig’s heartbeat. It’s loud, regular thud was comforting to Tweek and he often missed out on whole episodes of what they were watching listening to it.

He had an itch on his side but was loathed to move to scratch it as he was exactly where he wanted to be right now. Eventually it became unbearable and he had to move his hand for some relief. As he went to put it back onto his stomach he misjudged the distance, which resulted in his fingertips slightly resting on Craig’s bare side where his t-shirt had slightly hitched up. He fought the urge to snap his hand back and let his fingers remain there. Craig didn’t flinch, and his gaze remained on the TV screen.

Tweek noticed that Craig’s heartbeat had changed from its normal steady rhythm. It increased in speed and although he wouldn’t exactly say it was racing, it wasn’t calm. Tweek began to panic that he had made Craig angry with the physical contact and faked another scratch to his side so that he could remove his hand without being too obvious. After a while Craig’s heartbeat returned to its normal, calm beat.

Craig was disappointed when Tweek removed his hand. The warm, excited feeling he had received when the contact was made was unlike anything he had felt before. He was always the one to instigate any contact they made and for Tweek to do so on this occasion gave Craig a glimmer of hope that maybe Tweek had feelings for him too. But as usual it didn’t take long for that glimmer to disappear as Craig felt Tweek tense up and remove his hand pretty much straight away.

They continued to lay there for a while until both of their phones chimed at the same time. Reluctantly they separated and each grabbed their phone from the side. It was the group chat and both messages read

_Coon and friends assemble!!_

Tweek threw his phone onto the bed and groaned. They had planned to spend the whole day watching TV and chilling out and there wasn’t any part of him that wanted to deviate from that plan. Craig had laid down as he read the message. He looked up at Tweek

“We should get changed and head over” he sighed. Tweek quickly laid back down and returned his head to its position on Craig’s chest.

“No, I’m not going. We’ll just ignore it and stay here instead” he whined. Craig ruffled Tweek’s hair

“Do you want to put up with Cartmans bitching and moaning about us being deserters if we don’t go?” he asked raising an eyebrow even though Tweek could not see it.

“I don’t care” Tweek responded burying his face further into Craig’s chest. Before he knew what was happening Craig had flipped him onto his back and had him pinned down by the wrists. Craig’s face was only inches from his own and Tweek’s heart started to race.

“You will care when it’s all we hear about for weeks and weeks. It’ll be “Oh Tweek and Craig were too busy making out to turn up” and I can’t be bothered with it. It’s easier just to give in when Cartmans involved”.

Tweek could only just process what Craig was saying. He had been hypnotised by those big blue eyes again like countless times before.

Craig found it hard to fight the temptation to lean down and press his lips against Tweek’s. It had been getting more and more difficult lately to pull himself out of these moments. But as usual the image of Tweek pushing him away and running off flashed through his mind and he released his grip from Tweek’s wrists.

“I suppose you’re right” Tweek said giving in and sitting up now that Craig had released him. Craig walked over to Tweek’s desk and found a blank piece of paper. He got out a thick red marker pen and drew a big “S”. He then found some sticky tape and stuck the piece of paper to the front of his jumper. The transformation into Super Craig was complete.

Tweek went to his cupboard and removed the blue jumper from its hanger. The jumper had a circular piece of paper stuck to it in the same style as Craig’s however his had the letters “WT” written on it. Tweek put on the jumper and then reached for his headband which was tied around the top of the hanger. Once he had put on his brown gloves the transformation into his own superhero persona, Wonder Tweek, was complete.

They made their way downstairs and started the walk to Cartman’s house. Along the way they were joined by Stan and Kyle who were dressed as their alter egos, Human Kite and Toolshed. Craig had always wondered why the Asian girls had not done the Yaoi of Stan and Kyle rather than Tweek and him. They spent much more time together than him and Tweek had done at that point, so it would have made more sense.

As they approached Cartman’s house they saw Kenny in his Mysterion outfit - walking up the path towards the door. The boys all greeted each other and rang the doorbell. After a few seconds Mrs Cartman appeared

“Oh my! More little super heroes! Well aren’t I the lucky one to have so many brave boys around” she chirped “Eric is in the basement with the others so just go on down”. The boys each said thanks to Mrs Cartman and made their way downstairs to join the rest of the group.

The meeting had been going as it always did, which was basically Cartman explaining his latest plans for them to make as much money as possible. Tweek couldn’t remember the precise point where things had turned sour or the exact reason why, but he remembered the feeling of betrayal when Craig did not take his side in the argument. He remembered the feeling of disbelief when he had left with a few of the other boys and Craig had not followed.

Everything since then had felt like a kind of dream – or nightmare – and Tweek did not feel in control of anything. He had followed the other boys to Token’s house and was currently sat in his basement listening to the rest of the group discussing their new plans.

They had decided to start their own group and call themselves “Freedom Pals”. It seemed as though Timmy was in charge with Kenny as his right-hand man. Tweek felt as though he was just being swept along with the whole thing when all he wanted to do was go home.

Tweek noticed someone stood by the side of him and looked up to see Kenny

“You okay?” Kenny asked in his deep, slightly menacing, Mysterion voice. Tweek nodded but refrained from saying anything as he didn’t trust his voice at the moment “No-one would blame you if you wanted to go and talk to Craig, to try and sort things out” Kenny said reassuringly. Tweek would have loved to have done that but he realised for the first time that he was angry.

“No way man! Craig is the one being a jerk. He didn’t stand by me when I needed him. I would be by his side for anything GAH!” Tweek said with an unwanted noise escaping his mouth and a twitching of his eye.

“Don’t get yourself stressed over it. I’m sure it will all blow over in no time” Kenny said unconvincingly, he knew how long Cartman held a grudge for and couldn’t foresee this ending anytime soon. Tweek went back to just nodding in agreement.

“Token, it’s time for dinner. Your friends will have to head home now” shouted Mrs Black down into the basement.

“Okay Mom” Token yelled back up the stairs.

“Shall we meet here again tomorrow?” asked Stan hopefully. Tweek thought that Stan must be the person who was closest to feeling how he currently was. Kyle had stayed behind in the other group so Stan was now also without his best friend.

“I can’t tomorrow” Token responded “we’re going out of town to visit my Grandma. We could meet here Monday after school though?”. Everyone agreed to the plan and started to make their way home.

Tweek and Kenny lived in the same direction so ended up walking most of the way home together. Kenny was busy going over some of the plans they had made regarding the Freedom Pals and Tweek thought about how different he was when he put on his Mysterion costume. Usually Kenny was the guy cracking jokes and being crude but when he became Mysterion he was serious and straight talking.

When they got to Tweek’s house Kenny turned to him and said

“Seriously though, you should sort things out with Craig. You’ve come such a long way over the last few months and I’d hate to see you go backwards” Tweek wasn’t sure what Kenny meant by this but did not have the energy to ask.

“See you on Monday” was all he managed to say back as he closed the front door behind him. Annoyingly his parents were home for once so his plan of going straight upstairs to his room was no longer possible.

“Hi son, how has your day been?” asked Mr Tweak far too cheerfully for Tweek’s liking.

“Nnngh, it’s been okay” Tweek had to fight very hard to stop a huge twitch from occurring in his eye. He noticed his mother looking at him closely and realised he had to get away from his parents soon before they started to ask questions.

“I had food at GAH at Token’s house, so is it okay if Nnnngh if I go upstairs?” he lied.

“Of course sweetie. No Craig tonight?” asked Mrs Tweak, as the boys usually spent Saturday evenings together.

“No, the Tucker’s are having a family meal tonight” he lied again. Tweek was quite impressed with himself for his quick thinking and made his way into the kitchen before any further questions could be fired in his direction. He grabbed a large cup and filled it with strong black coffee. He said goodnight to his parents and made his way upstairs.

Once he had shut the door to his room and locked himself away from the world Tweek turned around and froze. He walked over to the desk and put his coffee down for fear of dropping it. Tweek stared at his bed and could see the indentation in the covers and the pillow where Craig had been lying earlier. Tweek couldn’t believe that it was only a few hours ago that they had been cuddled together watching TV but the proof was right there in front of his eyes.

_If only we hadn’t gone to that stupid meeting!_ He thought to himself. He stood next to his bed not wanting to disturb anything. If he laid down then the Craig shape would be gone and he wasn’t sure if it would ever be back. This thought scared Tweek and he instinctively reached for the mug of coffee and took a huge swig. The coffee was far too hot but the burning in his mouth was a good distraction from the pain he was feeling on the inside. He hadn’t drunk any coffee for a while now and it didn’t taste as good as he remembered.

When his phone vibrated and chimed in his pocket Tweek flinched and a large amount of coffee made its way out of the cup and onto his wrist. Tweek yelped and wiped the coffee away. _Well done spaz, that’s going to leave a very attractive red mark_ he heard the voice say. Tweek dismissed it and got out his phone. He felt instant relief when he saw Craig’s name on the message notification but that soon faded as he read the message

_Craig: Can’t believe you just walked out! What’s your problem?_

Tweek had so many emotions running through his head that he just stood frozen staring and re-reading the text. All thoughts of the Craig shape removed from his head, he sat down on the bed and furiously typed his response. It appeared that the lead emotion at this time was anger

_Tweek: R u serious?!?!? I needed u 2 back me up man and u didnt and then u jst sat there n let me go._

Tweek’s hands were shaking and he had tears rolling down his cheeks. He couldn’t believe that Craig was making him out to be the bad guy. Tweek heard the familiar alert and opened the new message and the two boys continued the conversation

_Craig: Stop being such a baby! You’re completely overreacting to all of this as usual._

_Tweek: wht do u mean as usual? So as far as ur concerned uve done nothing wrng?_

_Craig: No, I haven’t done anything wrong. Look just come over and we can talk about it or even better we can just forget it all and watch TV_

_Tweek: If u dnt think uve done anythin wrong then we have nothing 2 talk about nd I cant forget it sry. I thought u had my back man but u let me dwn_

_Craig: Fine, if that’s how you want to be then I’m done._

Tweek’s body froze as he read the last message. All of the anger left his system and panic took over.

“Oh jesus, he’s done” he said to no-one “but I’m Nnnnngh I’m right! He should have stuck up for me. If he cared then he GAH he should have had my back” tears were pouring down Tweek’s cheeks uncontrollably.

_But that’s just it though isn’t it?_

“What? Nnnnngh What’s it? What are you talking about?” Tweek didn’t even contemplate the fact that he had returned to not only acknowledging the voice in his head but actually engaging with it.

_He would stick up for you if he cared…but he doesn’t. He doesn’t care about you._ Tweek slid off the bed and curled up on the floor silently crying to himself listening to the voice saying over and over again

_He doesn’t care about you._

Craig threw his phone on the floor after typing his last message and laid back down on his bed. He didn’t understand why Tweek was being so dramatic about everything. _Why is he taking it so seriously? It’s just a stupid game we’re all playing!_ He thought to himself.

After about half an hour he reached down from the bed and searched for his phone. His fingers finally found their target and Craig looked at the screen. There were no new notifications. Tweek hadn’t text back after he’d sent that last message.

Craig decided to go downstairs and get something to eat. Mrs Tucker was in the kitchen when he entered and sat down at the table.

“Hey hun, how you doing?” She asked not looking up from the vegetables she was preparing for tomorrows lunch.

“Okay” Craig responded flipping through a magazine which was lying on the table.

“Where’s Tweek tonight? Are you not going over to see him?” She enquired. Craig sighed and said

“No, he’s being a baby and is sulking about something stupid”. Mrs Tucker turned around and looked at Craig

“Oh no. I hope you two aren’t fighting!” She exclaimed “that would be such a shame. You’ve become so close”. Craig didn’t want to talk about it anymore so just shrugged and grabbed some cereal to take upstairs.

“I’m going to bed now Mom. I’ll see you in the morning” he said as he was walking towards the kitchen door

“Craig, why don’t you give Tweek a call and make up. I’m sure whatever it is you’re fighting about isn’t worth it” suggested Mrs Tucker. Craig make a noise which couldn’t be interpreted as a positive or negative response and returned to his room. He had no intention of calling Tweek.

He spent the rest of the evening watching TV until he eventually fell asleep. It wasn’t a restful sleep and he woke up with tears running down his face while it was still dark. He looked at his clock and saw that it was just before 5am. He didn’t attempt to go back to sleep after this and just laid in bed watching the daylight slowly creep into his room.


	9. The Aftermath

Chapter 9 – The Aftermath

Tweek had not slept at all. He had spent all night sat at his desk, headphones jammed in his ears, drawing. He looked around, slightly dazed, and realised for the first time that it was light. He reached for his mug of coffee and found that it lifted far too easily. He was disappointed when he saw it was empty so made his way downstairs for a refill.

Mrs Tweak was sat at the kitchen table when Tweek entered the room and when she saw her son she stood up and poured him a cup of coffee

“Good morning. Did you have a good sleep?” she enquired.

“Yeah,” replied Tweek finding it easier to lie to his Mom than to tell her the truth. He sat down at the table and sipped his coffee. After a few minutes his father walked into the room. Mr Tweak’s face was pale and Tweek could see than he was sweating.

“Richard, you look awful!” exclaimed Mrs Tweak. As she spoke she made her way over to her husband and put her hand on his forehead.

“I’m okay, just a bit of a cold I think” Mr Tweak advised taking a seat at the table.

“You go straight upstairs and get back into bed. You have a temperature and won’t be going anywhere today!” Mrs Tweak said in a very stern voice. Both Tweek and his father knew that when Mrs Tweak used that voice it was pointless arguing with her.

“Tweek, would you mind helping me out in the shop today so your father can stay home and rest?” she asked, pleading with her eyes. Tweek groaned internally, he had intended to shut himself away in his room and spend the day being miserable but he knew he couldn’t refuse.

Tweek agreed and made his way upstairs to have a shower and get ready for work. After getting out of the shower Tweek checked his phone but there were no notifications.

_I told you that he doesn’t care didn’t I?_

Tweek didn’t want to start listening to the voice again so he quickly made his way downstairs. His mother was waiting in the living room and after Tweek had put on his shoes they left. It was cold outside and Tweek was glad that he had grabbed a thermos of coffee for the drive to work.

As it turned out going to work at the coffee shop wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Tweek found that concentrating on cleaning tables and taking peoples orders took his mind off the current situation with Craig.

Mrs Tweak had gone for her afternoon break and Tweek was behind the counter wiping down the sides. With the exception of a lone man tapping away on his laptop in the corner furthest from the service desk, the shop was empty. Tweek was glad it had been busy for most of the day as the time was passing much quicker than he had expected.

Tweek was vigorously wiping the counter when he realised that he was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, like someone was watching him. He turned to look at the man in the corner but he was staring at the screen of his laptop. Tweek was about to turn and look out of the window when the man glanced up and caught Tweek looking at him.

“Would it be possible to have a refill please?” the man asked pleased to not have to move from his seat to get his next fix of coffee. Tweek started to attend to the man’s request and soon forgot the uncomfortable feeling he had just experienced.

Craig was walking behind the rest of the Coon and Friends as they made their way down the main street. He didn’t feel much like getting involved in any conversation. He hadn’t wanted to meet up with the rest of the group today but the idea of sitting at home on his own seemed infinitely worse.

Clyde dropped back from the rest of the group and began walking next to Craig. He moved his mosquito nose away from his face and looked at his best friend

“I wish I hadn’t added this thing to my costume, it’s annoying and I can’t talk properly” he said gesturing to the long piece of plastic which now hung around his neck. Craig couldn’t help but chuckle a little at Clyde. He didn’t always make the smartest decisions and usually ended up regretting them and crying like a baby.

“Yeah your costume kinda sucks” Craig teased. Clyde let out a laugh

“Oh yeah and your costume is amazing. Exactly how long did it take you to find that piece of paper?” Craig rolled his eyes, usually he loved to engage in this kind of banter with Clyde but he didn’t feel up to it today. After a few minutes of silence Clyde got out his phone and started looking at the pictures of the Raisins girls that he had.

Craig couldn’t help but look into Tweek Bros. Coffee as he walked past but he stopped when he saw the familiar blonde figure behind the counter. Craig was on the other side of the street but could clearly see that it was Tweek. Tweek hadn’t worked in the shop on weekends for a while now so it was a shock to see him stood there.

Craig now understood what torture must feel like. Tweek was so close and it would only take a few seconds to run across the street and be with him. But they were fighting so he knew he couldn’t do that. Craig couldn’t take his eyes off Tweek, he wanted the image of his face imprinted into his memory so he could see it whenever he needed to. 

“Craig!” Craig jumped as Cartman’s voice bellowed his name and then continued “Stop crying over your boyfriend and hurry up!”. Craig could feel his cheeks grow red and started moving towards the group in front of him. He managed to sneak one last look at Tweek before he got too far away.

He caught up to the rest of the group and started walking beside Clyde.

“You okay?” Clyde asked quietly and slowed down so no-one else could hear.

“I’m fine,” Craig snapped “You should know better than anyone that I’m not bothered. It’s all fake anyway”. When Craig and Tweek had first began their relationship Clyde had been the only person that Craig had let in on the secret that it was all for show.

“Come on man. Mosquito sees everything! Bzzzzzzz” Clyde did a strange kind of flapping motion as he spoke, which Craig could only guess was his attempt at pretending to have wings.

“What are you going on about Clyde?” he asked impatiently.

“You and Tweek might have started off pretending to be together but I’ve seen the way you are with each other. I don’t think either of you are pretending anymore”. Craig was shocked by Clyde’s observation but he wasn’t ready to admit his feelings to Tweek yet so he certainly wasn’t going to confirm Clyde’s suspicions.

“You’ve got no idea what you’re talking about” Craig sneered.

“Okay, okay” Clyde said holding up his hands “Whatever you say man”. Craig sped up so that he caught up with the rest of the group. He didn’t think it was a good idea to continue anymore conversations with Clyde today.

The rest of the day was uneventful for both boys. Tweek finished his day at work and fell asleep early after the previous nights lost sleep. Craig did not fall asleep as easily and instead spent most of the evening on his phone. He checked Tweek’s Coonstagram and Twitter to see if he had posted any updates but there was nothing.

Craig’s felt tears threatening when he looked at Tweek’s last post on Coonstagram. It simply said

_Chilling with Craig : - D_

Tweek had posted it yesterday afternoon while they had been laid on the bed watching TV. Craig wished more than anything that he could go back to that moment in time and listen to Tweek when he had said that they shouldn’t go to Cartmans.

He decided to torture himself further and started to look through his photos. He didn’t have that many as Tweek was the one who was always snapping away.

Craig’s fingers froze when he got to one particular photo. It had been taken about 3 weeks ago when the boys had been watching TV in Tweek’s room. Craig had noticed after a while that Tweek had fallen asleep and he didn’t know why but he had an overwhelming urge to take a picture of him.

He had carefully reached for his phone and leant far enough back to capture Tweek’s face in the frame. Craig had forgotten to put his phone onto silent and as he took the picture a loud click made Tweek take a deep breath and start to open his eyes. Craig had quickly put his phone down and had forgotten all about the picture.

Craig ran his index finger over the photo of Tweek’s face and sighed. Today was the first day that they had not spoken to each other in months and Craig hated it. He missed his best friend.

Craig laid his phone on his quilt and propped it against the wall with the picture of Tweek still on the screen. He rested his head on the pillow and stared at the image, pressing the home button each time the screen went dark so Tweek’s face reappeared.

Craig wasn’t sure how long it took him to go to sleep but when he woke up he had an indentation the same shape as his phone on his face where he had been laid on it for most of the night.

Tweek open his eyes the next morning and enjoyed the first few seconds before he remembered the argument with Craig.

He wasn’t sure what school was going to be like today but he couldn’t see that it would be anything other than awful.

His whole school day usually revolved around Craig. Tweek always sat with Craig on the bus – over the past few weeks Craig had stopped getting a lift with Mrs Tucker and had started to catch the bus instead.

They spent breaks and lunch together and then left school together at the end of the day. Tweek wasn’t sure what he was going to do today at the times he would usually be with Craig.

When he arrived at the bus stop he was disappointed to see that the bus was already there. He had hoped that he could get there before Craig so he could take a seat first. He didn’t want to be the one who made the decision of whether they sat together or not.

Tweek took a deep breath and made his way onto the bus. The whole seating arrangement was different than normal due to the argument over the weekend but Tweek barely noticed this. The only thing he noticed was the absence of a certain blue coat and hat wearing boy.

“Tweek! I saved you a seat” shouted a voice from the back of the bus. Tweek looked up and saw Kenny frantically waving at him. He walked down the bus and took a seat.

Kenny was busy talking about some girl that he had been chatting up at starks pond yesterday however Tweek wasn’t paying him any attention. He was looking out of the window waiting for Craig.

When the doors closed and the bus pulled away Tweek sunk down into his seat. He tried to listen to Kenny but couldn’t stop wondering why Craig wasn’t on the bus today.  

As Tweek stepped off the bus and walked towards the school he saw a familiar car pull up and instantly recognised it as the Tucker’s.

Craig had decided not to get the bus to school that morning to avoid any awkwardness. His mother had attempted to quiz him about the argument during the car journey but had given up after getting no answers from Craig.

As they pulled up outside the school Craig looked back to where the bus was parked and his eyes automatically sought out the petite blonde who was walking towards the school.

Craig was relieved to see that he was walking with Kenny. Even if they were arguing Craig didn’t want Tweek to be left on his own. He knew that Tweek didn’t do so well when he was left alone with his own thoughts.

Craig noticed Tweek stop when he saw the Tucker’s car. As Craig got out of the car he looked over at Tweek and Kenny. He had decided that if Tweek smiled at him or acknowledged him in anyway he would go straight over and they could forget the whole thing.

However, when he saw the look on Tweek’s face any ideas of making up were instantly shot down. Craig had never seen Tweek look so angry before and it was actually quite intimidating.

Craig walked into the school ahead of Kenny and Tweek and made his was to his locker once he was inside.

As he opened the door to his locker he saw the picture of him and Tweek that was stuck to the inside of the door. Craig grabbed his books and slammed the locker door shut. He couldn’t understand why Tweek was being such a baby about the whole thing. They were playing a stupid game and just because he didn’t agree with him on one thing he was now being ignored.

Craig had been questioning the way Tweek felt about him over the last couple of days. He had always hoped that the feelings he had developed over the past few months might also have developed for Tweek too. But he found that hard to believe now. If Tweek was willing to walk away from him over something so small he obviously didn’t care that much.

There was a tense atmosphere in the school that day, not just between Tweek and Craig but between the whole of the Coon and Friends and Freedom Pals. At lunch the two groups sat on opposite sides of the canteen shooting each other glaring looks.

The game of dodgeball during Phys Ed was particularly vicious – which the coach seemed to enjoy very much. As Kyle and Token had been chosen to be captains it basically ended up being the two groups against each other.

At one point Stan threw a fast ball which hit Craig in the stomach causing him to fall to the ground. Tweek’s immediate reaction was to run over and check that he was okay but managed to stop himself. Craig eventually got up and carried on playing but Tweek could see that he was still in some pain.

After the game had finished everyone went back to the locker rooms to shower and change. Tweek thought he was the last one to finish getting changed and hurriedly made his way to the door. As he was about to leave he heard a noise coming from the area where the sinks and mirrors were.

He made his way over to where the noise came from and as he turned the corner he saw a figure stood in front of the mirrors. It was Craig. He was holding up his shirt and looking at his reflection. Tweek could see the beginning of a large purple bruise on his side and any anger he still had towards Craig was instantly forgotten.

“Jesus Craig are you okay?” he questioned. Craig turned around startled by the unexpected voice behind him.

“I’m alright. It looks worse than it feels” Craig replied attempting a smile which actually came out more of a grimace.

“I think you should go and see the nurse. You could have a broken rib or internal bleeding. Maybe we should call an ambulance” Tweek barely drew breath while he was speaking. Craig stood silently listening to Tweek’s ramblings and a small smile developed on his face. Tweek stopped talking

“What are you smiling about?” He asked with a puzzled expression on his face. Craig sighed and leant back against the sink.

“I’ve missed your little outbursts,” he replied sadly.

“Craig I –“ Tweek was cut off by the sound of people entering the locker room. He turned around and saw a group of younger boys making their way to the changing area. He looked back towards Craig and said

“Just make sure you go to the nurse okay”. As he finished his sentence he turned around and left the locker room.


	10. A Quiet Evening in

Chapter 10 – A Quiet Evening In

Tweek had a sinking feeling when he closed the front door behind him after returning home from school that day. He realised that it was Monday which meant that his parents were working late.

The shop stayed open until 10pm on a Monday as it held a poetry reading session which was very popular with the residents of South Park (who liked to think they were edgy and progressive). It was actually one of the shops busiest periods.

Tweek had always hated Monday nights. The later it got in the evenings the scarier being alone was. Every noise sounded like someone making their way into his room and the shadows on the wall looked like twisted, gnarled monsters about to devour him.

Lately though this had changed - he actually looked forward to Monday nights now. He would go home with Craig after school and stay there until around 8pm when Mrs Tucker would drive him back to his house. Tweek always enjoyed spending time at the Tucker’s as it made him feel like he belonged to a real family.

Mrs Tucker didn’t like that Tweek was left on his own so much. She hated driving away from his house and seeing him waving from the doorstep. When Craig asked for permission to Facetime with Tweek until his parents got home on a Monday night Mrs Tucker not only agreed but encouraged it.

The boys usually just watched the same TV programme and chatted with each other. They never did much but Tweek did not feel scared or alone anymore. Just hearing Craig’s voice and seeing his face made him feel safe.

Tweek made his way into the kitchen and poured himself a large cup of coffee. He looked in the fridge trying to decide what to eat but realised that he wasn’t hungry. Eventually he grabbed a chocolate bar and went up to his room.

The evening went slowly and with each glance at the clock Tweek was disappointed that more time had not passed. Once it was completely dark Tweek changed into his night clothes and climbed into bed pulling the covers up to his eyes.

He kept his beside lamp switched on but this didn’t stop the old feelings of terror creeping back in. The shadows once again started to take the form of monsters and the noises were unsettling. He looked at the clock and saw that it was only 7:44pm and let out a groan. Tweek was certain that time was now going backwards.

Without warning a loud noise and vibrating sound came from Tweek’s side and he involuntarily let out a small gasp and flung himself against the wall furthest from where the noise had come from.

The noise continued and it took Tweek a few seconds to realise it was his phone. A nervous chuckle escaped from his mouth as he reached towards it. He froze when he saw what the screen said:

_Craig would like FaceTime_

Craig had also returned home to an empty house that afternoon. His parents hadn’t returned from work yet and Tricia was obviously attending one of her many after school clubs. Craig threw his backpack on the floor and flopped onto the sofa. A sharp pain shot through his body where he had been injured earlier and he grimaced.

Craig spent a long time just laid staring at the ceiling trying to keep his mind as blank as possible. As much as he tried his brain always rebelled and returned (as usual) to thoughts of Tweek. Craig had been wondering all afternoon what Tweek had been about to say to him in the locker room before the other kids had made an appearance. He had been asking himself if things would be resolved now if only they hadn’t been interrupted.

After an amount of time that Craig could not identify he heard a car pull into the drive and the slam of a door. He quickly reached for the TV control and pressed the power button. The TV sprung into life just as Mrs Tucker walked through the door.

“Hi hon,” she said frowning slightly as she entered the house “everything okay?”

“Yeah I’ve just been watching TV” Craig lied.

“Oh, I didn’t know that you were such a fan of My Little Pony” she responded with raised eyebrows. Craig turned his attention to the TV and saw two brightly coloured ponies dancing around on the screen. He realised that Tricia must have been watching cartoons before school this morning and when he had switched on the TV it was still on that channel.

“I must have fallen asleep or something” he advised shrugging, knowing full well that his mother wouldn’t believe that, but deciding it was better than not saying anything.

“I was hoping that Tweek would be here” Mrs Tucker remarked as she made her way through the living room. Craig flinched at the sound of Tweek’s name and just grunted back in response. Hearing Tweek’s name did however spark a realisation in Craig. He had been so preoccupied with wondering what Tweek was going to say to him that afternoon that he hadn’t realised what day it was.

His stomach churned at the thought of Tweek being alone this evening but he wasn’t sure what he should do. Except for their brief exchange this afternoon he hadn’t spoken to Tweek in the last few days and didn’t know if a call tonight would be welcomed.

Craig spent the rest of the early evening agonising over what he should do. He barely ate any of the meal that Mrs Tucker had prepared and did not get involved in the conversations at the dinner table. He was only drawn away from his thoughts when he heard Tricia say

“Why isn’t Tweek here tonight? He’s always here on a Monday.” Craig felt three pairs on eyes focus on him and rather than answering Tricia’s question just flipped her off. Tricia instantly returned the gesture and stuck out her tongue.

“He’s probably got sick of Craig and decided to break up with him!” She sneered. Craig never usually reacted to any of Tricia’s insults or provocative comments but what she had just said hit a nerve, as it was exactly what Craig feared had happened.

Craig stood up with such force that his chair flew onto the floor behind him and his face was full of rage.

“You’ve got no idea what happened so shut your mouth!” he yelled in Tricia’s direction. Tricia flinched back in her chair as though Craig’s words had physical assaulted her. An atmosphere of shock hung in the kitchen. None of the Tuckers had ever seen Craig lose control of himself this way before.

The shock caused tears to silently roll down Tricia’s face. Mr Tucker’s fork was frozen midway between his plate and his mouth and gravy dripped onto the table. Mrs Tucker just stared, not recognising the boy in front of her with his eyes full of anger and tears.

Craig looked around the table and when he saw the look of horror on his family’s faces he instantly regretted his actions – especially when he saw that Tricia was upset. He knew he should apologise but he couldn’t form any words. His throat felt as though it had closed and he might choke if he tried to speak.

Instead he just picked up his chair and put it back into it’s place. He turned around and exited the kitchen and made his way to his room. After a while there was a light knock at the door and Mrs Tucker entered the room.

“I’m sorry” Craig said robotically without looking up. Mrs Tucker didn’t respond to his statement and simply sat on the bed next to him. Craig could feel his mother’s eyes staring at him and began to feel uncomfortable…he also started to feel like he was about to cry.

“I said I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make Tricia cry” Craig explained. He only just managed to say the last word before his voice started to tremble and his breathing became deep and erratic. Mrs Tucker pulled her son into a tight embrace. Craig could not fight the need to break down any longer and fell apart in his mother’s arms.

Craig eventually managed to gain control of himself and pulled his face away from Mrs Tucker’s shoulder. He noticed that her shirt was wet from his tears. Mrs Tucker had still not said anything up until this point and had simply been stroking Craig’s head.

“Feel better?” She asked. Craig nodded and managed to force a half smile for his mother.

“Craig, it’s not good for you to bottle things up and shut yourself off from the world. Since Tweek came along you talk to me and I don’t feel like I am prying if I asked how your day has been. I love you and I always will, but I don’t want you to go back to the old Craig who was so disconnected from everyone. Regardless of what happens going forward please don’t shut me out of your life again”

Craig could only stare at his mother. For the first time in his life he didn’t see her as “Laura Tucker – Mom”, he saw her as a person, someone with emotions and fears. Someone whose biggest fear at the minute seemed to be caused by him.

Despite the feeling of guilt he had building up inside of him he couldn’t find the right words to comfort her. Craig had never been able to express himself very well and wondered if this had been a contributing factor to his current situation. He questioned if things would be different if he had been able to tell Tweek how he felt.

Craig smiled at his mother again and squeezed her hand, hoping that this gesture would be enough to ease her worries. It appeared to do the trick as she stood up, kissed him on the head and left the room.

Craig noticed that it was now fully dark outside and glanced at the clock on his bedside table. The red digital numbers showed “7:41”.

His thoughts returned to Tweek. None of the pictures that came into his head reassured him that everything was okay. First an image of a small blonde figure crouched in the corner of a room with a look of terror on his face. Craig thought this was bad enough but then his mind showed a short movie of the same blonde figure roaming through the dark, cold streets alone and afraid.

Craig was pulled away from his internal cinema when Stripe let out a small sneeze from the corner of the room. He instinctively smiled, remembering how hilarious Tweek had found it the first time he had heard Stripe sneeze. He hadn’t stopped laughing for about 10 minutes.

Craig stood up and grabbed the chair from his desk and put it in front of Stripe’s cage. Returning to the other side of the room he grabbed his phone and a pillow. Placing the pillow on the seat of the chair, Craig rested his phone in one of the folds so that it was standing on its side. He pressed the button which opened the camera and adjusted the phone so that the screen only showed Stripe’s cage.

Once he was happy with the position, he closed the camera, took a deep breath and pressed the buttons to initiate Facetime. Craig stood above the phone and looked down so that he would not be caught by the camera but he could see the screen. After what seemed like a lifetime the image changed and showed Tweek’s face.

Craig looked at the picture that was being broadcasted to Tweek and made sure that it showed Stripe snuffling around his cage – it was. He sat on the end of his bed and watched as Stripe started to take a drink from the bottle attached to the side of his cage. The temptation to sneak another look at the phone and see Tweek’s face was overwhelming but Craig couldn’t help but feel like it was a bit creepy and unfair considering Tweek could not see him.

After a few minutes Stripe decided that it was time to re-arrange his sleeping area and started to dig around. One particular movement sent a small cloud of sawdust up into the air which resulted in Stripe letting out a small but relatively loud sneeze. 

For the first time since the phone call had begun the silence was broken from Tweek’s side and Craig heard a familiar giggle. Craig smiled at the sound he loved to hear and had missed so much over the past few days. He laid his head down on his hands and continued to watch Stripe until he fell asleep.

Around 9:45pm Craig opened his eyes and it took him a second to realise where he was - he wasn’t familiar with waking up at this end of the bed. After his brain had caught up with his eyes he remembered the FaceTime with Tweek and sleepily made his way over to his phone which was still resting on the chair by Stripe’s cage.

Craig peered over the top of the phone – carefully avoiding being caught in the cameras sight – and his heart melted when he saw the screen. He picked up his phone and looked closely at Tweek who was fast asleep in his bed. Craig realised that Tweek must have propped his phone up on the cabinet next to his bed and had also fallen asleep while he was watching Stripe.

“Goodnight babe” Craig whispered as he ended the call.


	11. The Meeting

Chapter 11 – The Meeting

Craig woke up the next morning and for the first time in the last few days he didn’t feel as though the world had ended. Although they had not spoken last night he took the fact that Tweek answered his call (and stayed on the line) as a good sign.

He considered telling his Mom that he didn’t need a ride today and to take the bus to school instead but decided against that when the original problem of whether he should sit with Tweek or not crossed his mind. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself if Tweek still wasn’t ready to talk.

As the car pulled up outside the school Craig saw two groups stood either end of the playground and sighed. His silent prayer during the journey hadn’t worked and a peace treaty had not been agreed in his absence.

He made his way towards his allies but couldn’t help sneaking a glance at Tweek as he passed by the opposing group. The look of anger that had been directed towards him the last few days had gone however the sad look that had replaced it hurt Craig just as much.

It was rare these days to see Tweek without a smile on his face. Since they had been “together” Tweek had changed from someone who had a constant look of worry on his face to a relaxed, joyful kind of person.

Craig leaned against the bars of the swing set that the Coon and Friends had gathered by and after greeting everyone with a silent nod, pretended to listen to Cartman. Craig was actually sneaking as many looks at Tweek as he thought he could get away. If they couldn’t talk to each other then this was better than nothing.

The lack of attention from Craig was not going unnoticed however. Cartman silently grew more and more enraged at not having the undivided attention of one of his “friends”. Cartman was aware that something had to be done about this. He knew that Craig prioritised his “Cool Guy” reputation over all else and began thinking how he could use this to his advantage.

Tweek saw the Tucker’s car approach the school and as Craig exited the vehicle Tweek realised that the anger he’d felt towards him had gone. Now he just missed his best friend.

As Tweek’s attention returned from Craig back to the Freedom Pals. He noticed that Stan was looking in his direction and when their eyes met he gave Tweek a small smile that said “I know exactly how you feel”.

Tweek attempted to smile back at Stan but this was prevented by a large twitch. The last few days had taken its toll on Tweek and although he didn’t like to admit it the twitching and involuntary noises had started to creep back in.

He hoped that people hadn’t noticed his relapse too much but knew that this was impossible as his outbursts tended to draw a lot of unwanted attention. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the smile on Stan’s face replaced with a look of concern.

Stan began to make his way over but stopped when the bell rang. Tweek let out a sigh of relief as Stan changed direction and made his way into the school instead. Tweek also made his way to class but ensured that he was always a distance from Stan which made conversation impossible.

The morning was uneventful and passed by slowly. It still felt strange to Tweek and Craig to not be sneakily texting each other during class and failing miserably to contain their laughter. Only one person seemed to be enjoying the feud and that was Mr Garrison. He had never known his class to be so well behaved before.

Craig jumped slightly when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket signalling that he had received a message. His heart rate increased as he carefully removed his phone and placed it between the pages of the workbook he had on his desk.

As Craig turned over his phone the same words were playing over and over in his head _Please be Tweek, Please be Tweek, Please be Tweek_. Disappointment washed over him as he saw that the message sender showed as _Withheld ID._ Craig opened the message:

_Meet me in the Gym at the beginning of lunch. It is important_

Craig looked around the room to see if anyone was watching him. If they were then this may mean that they had sent the message. To Craig’s annoyance no-one was looking in his direction.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. Maybe the message had come from Tweek and he was afraid that Craig may not show up if he knew it was from him. Craig had been around Tweek long enough now to know how his mind worked.

Craig looked over at Tweek to see if he could spot any tell-tale signs that the text had been from him however Tweek was giving nothing away. Craig could just about make out that he was doodling in his textbook.

For the rest of the morning Craig tried not to get his hopes up about the impending meeting in case his reasoning was incorrect. But the more he thought about it the more it made sense. Tweek had taken the call last night and hadn’t looked angry this morning so maybe he was ready to talk.

After what seemed like a lifetime the bell finally rang signalling that it was lunchtime. Craig took his time leaving the classroom as he wanted to give Tweek time to get to the gym ahead of him. When there was nobody left in the room but himself and Mr Garrison Craig left and walked slowly towards the meeting spot.

The closer he got to the gym the more he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He was worried that if it got much louder he wouldn’t be able to hear a word that Tweek was saying. Craig played the whole scene through in his head.

Tweek would say that he didn’t want to fight anymore and that the whole thing had been ridiculous to start with. Craig would agree and they would both laugh about the whole thing and everything would go back to normal. A small smile graced his face as Craig opened the doors to the gym.

Craig made his way into the gym and looked around. The gym appeared to be empty. Craig wondered if he hadn’t left it long enough for Tweek to get here before him but then a noise and movement came from the stands behind him.

“Hey Craig, thanks for coming”. It took a few moments for Craig to recognise that it was Stan stood in front of him and not Tweek as he had expected. The crushing disappointment he felt at the realisation that it wasn’t Tweek that had sent the message made it feel as though all of the air had been forced from his body.

Eventually he managed to speak

“Stan? You sent that message?” Seeing the confusion on Craig’s face Stan got straight to the point

“Yeah I did,” Stan let out a long, deep sigh “Everyone has their reasons for choosing the side they did in this war but it’s been harder on some of us than others.”

Craig continued to look at Stan, scanning his face for any sign of insincerity. But Craig recognised the look of loss in Stan’s eyes – he had seen it every morning in the mirror since this whole mess happened. Craig remained silent so Stan continued

“I thought we could maybe, you know, help each other out.” Stan looked down and Craig thought that he appeared uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to seeing this side of Stan and any other time would have found it amusing.

“Help each other how?” Craig queried.

“I don’t know, like, maybe you could tell me how Kyle is doing?” Stan mumbled, still refusing to make eye contact. To an onlooker it would appear that he was examining something very interesting on the floor.

“Why would I do that?” Craig scoffed. He had never had any special connection with Stan and Craig couldn’t understand why he had chosen him for this apparent truce.

“Because I can tell you how Tweek is doing and, well, I think you should know.” Stan now had Craig’s undivided attention. The last few words in particular made Craig’s blood freeze in his veins. Why did he need to know? Was something wrong?

“Fine, whatever. Just tell me what’s wrong with Tweek?” Craig said impatiently. Stan shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“Tell me how Kyle is first. I don’t trust you Craig,” Stan said finally making eye contact.

“Oh for Fu…he’s…quiet. For some reason he’s letting Cartman tell him what to do” Craig tried to think of something else to say. He hadn’t been paying particular attention to Kyle but then a thought occurred to him “I haven’t heard him laugh for a long time.”

It appeared to Craig that Stan was slightly relieved when he heard that Kyle seemed to be having a tough time. Craig understood the feeling – he would have felt hurt if Tweek was walking round with a huge smile on his face right now.

“Okay, I told you how Kyle is so now tell me what’s going on with Tweek,” Craig instructed. He felt like something inside him might explode if Stan didn’t get to the point soon.

“He’s not doing too well. He’s started twitching and making those weird noises again like he used to,” Stan looked down at Craig from his spot on the stands “you should just apologise to him and get back together.”

Craig struggled to process everything that Stan had just said. The worry that came from knowing that Tweek was falling back into old habits and also confusion as to why he should apologise.

“Apologise? Me? Tweek is the one who blew this whole thing out of proportion. It was a stupid little fight and he’s being a big baby!” Craig could feel that he was beginning to lose his temper and tried to reign himself back. It was one thing to lose it in front of his family but he wouldn’t let it happen at school.

“You don’t get it do you? It’s not about the fight dude,” Stan said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Craig just stood silently, eyebrows furrowed showing his confusion.

Seeing that Craig didn’t see his point Stan continued with a roll of his eyes

“Tweek just wanted you to stand by him when he needed you…and…well, you didn’t. I’m pretty sure that even if you were totally wrong Tweek would be right behind you, fighting your corner. He just wanted the same back”.

Memories flashed through Craig’s mind showing all the times recently that he had crossed paths with people or had been trapped in an awkward situation with no way out. In every single one Tweek had been there backing him up. Even when he was being a dick or was wrong he had Tweek’s unwavering support. Now for the first time Tweek had looked for the favour to be returned and Craig had let him down.

He remembered the look on Tweek’s face when he had not followed him after the argument in Cartman’s basement. Craig had thought that Tweek was just sulking and being a baby but he now saw that the look was one of betrayal.

Guilt wrapped around Craig like a blanket. He had never felt regret like this before and it didn’t feel good. But old habits and instinct kicked in and Craig felt the need to defend himself in front of Stan.

“I never asked for Tweek’s help with anything. I didn’t need him then and I don’t need him now!” Craig noticed the look on Stan’s face – it was one of disgust.

“I’ve always thought you were a jerk Craig. I couldn’t understand why Tweek would want to be with someone like you. I assumed that maybe deep down you were actually cool but it looks like I was wrong.” Stan made his way towards the door but hesitated before he left. He turned around and looked at Craig from his toes to the top of his head.

“I feel sorry for Tweek. It must suck to be in love with someone like you!” Before Craig had a chance to respond Stan was gone and he was left standing alone in the gym.


	12. The Need to be Needed

Chapter 12 – The Need to be Needed

Tweek had intended to speak to Craig during lunch to see if they could just forget everything that had happened. After the phone call last night Tweek had decided that he didn’t care about Craig apologising anymore. He just wanted things back the way they were.

Tweek had seen Craig heading to the gym and followed at a safe distance – he didn’t want any of the other Freedom Pals seeing him and trying to stop the reconciliation. As he carefully began to open the gym door he heard voices and stopped.

After a few seconds he recognised the voices – it was Craig and Stan. Tweek felt bad for eavesdropping but was unable to move his feet, especially once he realised he was the topic of conversation.

It seemed as though Stan was explaining to Craig why Tweek was upset with him. When Tweek heard Craig’s response it hurt him more than any words had ever done before. To hear Craig say that he didn’t need him made all of Tweek’s biggest fears a reality.

Tweek walked away from the gym in a daze, wondering how he could have convinced himself that Craig ever had any real feelings towards him. Craig had always been one of the cool guys and was popular with the girls. It was only his aim to have a boring, hassle free life that made him agree to the “relationship” with Tweek in the first place.

Tweek felt embarrassed and ashamed. He wondered if everyone knew he was in love with Craig. If Stan knew then who else did? Tweek’s cheeks started to redden as he pictured everyone laughing at him behind his back.

He was just glad that he had been able to get away from the gym door before Stan exited, that would have been an awkward encounter.

Making his way through the crowded hallway Tweek wasn’t exactly sure where he was heading. Those words just kept replaying in his head

_I didn’t need him then and I don’t need him now_

Tweek found himself stood in front of his locker. He wasn’t sure what had brought him here, but he opened the door and leaned inside.

He could feel tears running down his twitching cheeks and was thankful for the privacy granted by his locker door. Tweek tried to stop his shoulders from hitching up with each silent sob that escaped from him.

When a hand was placed on his shoulder Tweek jumped around with a small shriek. Standing in front of him - with a genuine look of regret on his face - was Butters.

“Oh gee wizz. I didn’t mean to scare ya!” he gushed. Tweek quickly wiped at his face attempting to remove any evidence of his meltdown. He knew this was pointless but felt as though he needed to try something.

“Jesus! You shouldn’t creep up on people like that. I nearly had a heart attack!” he advised dramatically whilst closing his locker door.

“I wanted to see how you were doing. It must be awful hard on you fellas with what’s going on and all” Butters said sympathetically. Tweek wanted to tell Butters to mind his own business but the sincerity in his eyes made it impossible to be mean to him.

Tweek had always questioned why a lot of the other guys picked on Butters or played pranks on him. When he looked at you it was like looking into the eyes of a puppy. He had always wondered if the constant bullying was what had caused Butters to create his alter ego Professor Chaos.

“Nnnnghh, Craig seems to be doing just fine without me!” Tweek eventually responded. He felt frustrated with himself both for the involuntary noises, which were becoming much more frequent again and also for airing his feelings about Craig to Butters.

“Heck I don’t believe that at all. Not one little bit! Why only yesterday I overheard him asking someone how you were doing. He wouldn’t be asking that if he didn’t care now would he?” Butters tilted his head at the end of his sentence clearly looking for a response from Tweek.

Tweek would have liked nothing more than to be comforted by Butters revelation but he had literally just heard Craig say that he didn’t need him. Tweek knew that Butters was an optimist and wouldn’t leave him alone if he thought that his attempts to comfort Tweek had failed.

“I suppose your right. Thanks.” Was all that Tweek could manage, followed by a pitiful half smile. Butters seemed satisfied that his mission to comfort Tweek was successful and with a friendly pat on the shoulder made his way down the corridor. Tweek could hear him singing something about apples but couldn’t make out all the words.

Tweek was grateful for Butters’ intervention. It hadn’t made him feel any better, but it had put a stop to the panic attack that he had felt brewing moments before. He took a deep breath and made his way outside, there was no way that he was eating in the cafeteria today.

As Tweek exited the school he considered making a run for it and spending the rest of the day at home, in bed with his head under the covers. His parents wouldn’t know because he was always home before them anyway.

But then he would have to go through the hassle of forging his parents signature on the absence letter and then worrying about being found out for weeks. He decided that for half a day it wasn’t worth it and just sat on the swings looking up at the sky until the bell signalled the end of lunch.

Craig left the gym feeling deflated. It was hard to believe that less than 15 minutes ago he was feeling so positive about everything. Now he had a million thoughts running through his head, each conflicting with another.

This was precisely why he had tried so hard to keep his life simple and uncomplicated previously. He didn’t know how to deal with these types of feelings and had never had someone depending on his support before.

Craig let out a small sigh as he admitted (to himself) that he was surprised he hadn’t messed things up way before now. He thought about how complex Tweek was and the fact that he never hid any of his emotions. Whether it was fear, joy or anger you always knew how Tweek was feeling. Craig would have been surprised if he knew that Tweek had actually been doing a very good job at masking his true feelings recently.

Craig was the complete opposite, whenever he started to feel anything he made sure it got buried deep, deep down. It was only recently that a few cracks had appeared in his usually solid exterior.

Craig didn’t know what it was about Tweek that made him feel the way he did but the new feelings were too strong to completely bury like he normally would and as much as he hated to admit it they felt good.

As Craig made his way to the cafeteria he saw Tweek heading towards his locker and wondered if now would be a good time to try to start a conversation. Nothing big – just in case Tweek still wasn’t ready to forgive him – maybe just a “Hey Tweek” as he passed or something similar.

He was trying to work out how to sound casual while his stomach was doing somersaults when he noticed that Tweek had practically climbed into his locker. Craig felt more disappointment set in as he assumed that Tweek must have seen him approaching and had tried to hide as quickly as he could.

He didn’t want a scene to unfold in the middle of the crowded hallway, so quickly made his way into the cafeteria to eat his lunch. The last thing he wanted was to have everybody staring at him and knowing his business. Craig decided it was best to wait until they were outside school to try and sort things out.

Once the final bell had rang Craig tried to make a quick exit from the classroom. He wanted to catch up with Tweek, who had made an even quicker exit, outside. He had decided to ask Tweek if they could walk home together so they could talk.

Craig knew that he owed Tweek an apology and didn’t want to leave it any longer. He couldn’t bear the thought of Tweek deciding that their “relationship” wasn’t worth the hassle and not agreeing to getting back together.

Although he knew that they were not in a real relationship, Craig decided that it was better to carry on the way things had been previously and still be able to spend time with Tweek. The sooner he got things sorted out the less chance there was of losing him completely.

As Craig reached the doorway Cartman stepped in front of him and announced,

“I’m calling an important Coon and Friends meeting which needs to happen now. Get Human Kite and Mosquito and meet me by the swings outside!”

Craig started to object but before he could even get one word out Cartman had left and disappeared into the mass of people in the hallway. Craig was annoyed but rather than cause a fuss went to find Kyle and Clyde so they could attend this “important” meeting.

Once he had completed his task and informed Kyle and Clyde about the meeting the 3 Coon and friends made their way towards the exit to meet the others. Craig was walking slightly ahead of his companions thinking to himself;

_The sooner I get there, the sooner I can lea_...

Craig didn’t have time to finish his thought. He was struck by an unidentified object which had come flying around the corner. Both himself and his assailant had been knocked to the ground.

Craig saw a few books scattered around his feet and instantly recognised the scrawling writing on the front of one of them. It was Tweek’s handwriting.

He moved his gaze away from the books and saw Tweek starting to quickly gather his dropped belongings. He was mumbling some kind of apology, but Craig couldn’t make out the exact words. Tweek looked dishevelled and his eyes were frantic.

“Tweek, you okay Babe?” He enquired, not even registering that he had used one of his usual terms of affection. At the sound of Craig’s voice Tweek looked up. He hadn’t noticed that it was Craig he had unintentionally tackled to the floor.

“Yeah. I’m fine…AAAH!” Tweek couldn’t stop a gigantic twitch from occurring which caused him to drop one of the books he had picked up.

“Calm down Tweek, it’s only a few books and I wasn’t hurt. See?” Craig smiled and held his arms away from his body so Tweek could see there was no damage.

Tweek couldn’t help but smile back. When Craig smiled it was infectious and you had no choice but to follow his lead.

“Okay…that’s good” Tweek said to himself more than anyone. He could feel the soothing effect that Craig had on him beginning to work its usual magic. He didn’t feel as jittery or on edge as he had over the last few days.

Craig picked up one of the books and handed it to Tweek. As Tweek placed his hand around the book his fingers overlapped Craig’s. Neither moved their hand away. Their eyes met as they both looked up.

Tweek felt the familiar warm rush he always got when they made physical contact. Looking into Craig’s eyes Tweek had to keep reminding himself of the conversation he had heard earlier. It was too easy to convince himself that he saw affection and possibly even love in them.

He had already made enough of a fool of himself by believing that Craig could ever have genuine feelings towards him and he didn’t intend to embarrass himself further. 

Tweek’s brain was telling him to move his hand away before Craig got angry but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had missed the physical contact they shared, even though it was something as simple as holding hands. As this could be the last time it would ever happen Tweek wanted it to last as long as it could.

He expected Craig to break eye contact and pull his hand away but to his amazement this did not happen. Craig’s eyes remained firmly set on his and if Tweek wasn’t mistaken Craig’s fingers had moved so they overlapped Tweek’s hand which was now holding the book. Tweek would have looked down to confirm his suspicions but couldn’t seem to move his eyes away from Craig’s.

Tweek didn’t know what to think. Everything that was happening now completely contradicted what he had heard earlier. If Craig didn’t need (or even want) him then why was he currently staring so intensely that Tweek felt as though he was looking right into his soul.

Craig’s eyes flickered away from Tweek’s briefly and as they returned he opened his mouth to speak;

“Tweek…I…” but before he could finish his sentence a loud, mocking voice boomed from further down the corridor making everyone (including Tweek and Craig) stop in their tracks.

“Jesus Craig! You just can’t keep your hands off your boyfriend can you?”.


	13. It's Now or Never

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a long time coming but this is it guys, the last chapter. Thank you for all the wonderful comments and words of encouragement, they really have meant the world to me.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the last chapter and I hope I've given you all the best ending possible :-)

Chapter 13 – It’s Now or Never

Cartman had planned to humiliate Craig at the Coon and Friends meeting he had arranged to take place after school. Knowing what a prideful person Craig could be he couldn’t think of a better punishment for his lack of attention recently.

He intended to get all of the Coon and Friends together and draw their attention to a traitor they had amongst them. When he had them wound up enough he would reveal that it was Craig who was the traitor by being constantly distracted by a certain twitchy blonde.

Cartman knew how sensitive Craig was about his relationship with Tweek. He had never seen them do anything more than hold hands in public. He assumed (wrongly) that it was because Craig was embarrassed and that they left all the “other” things they did until they were alone.

When he had spotted the two of them making sad eyes at each other on the floor of the school hallway he had seen an even better opportunity – and a bigger audience - for his plan.

“Craig you seriously need to get help. If you can’t cope without the touch of a man for more than a few days then you have a problem!” Cartman smirked as he heard a wave of laughter come from the crowd of students who had gathered around. 

His plan was going better than he had ever imagined. He had never seen Craig blush before but there it was! Craig and Tweek both had cheeks which had gone a warm shade of pink and Craig had quickly broken contact from Tweek and stood up.

“I was just helping him pick up his books” Craig responded quickly, feeling like there were a thousand sets of eyes gazing at him. This was everything Craig hated. He was the centre of attention and being ridiculed in front of his peers.

“You need to stop thinking with your dick Craig!” Cartman continued with a satisfied grin. There was only one thing he liked more than winning and it was someone else losing and Craig was losing big time.

Craig looked at Cartmen and then at Tweek. Tweek had steadied himself enough to pick up all of his belongings and stuff them into his backpack. He got to his feet and turned to make a quick exit but his path was blocked by a group of people who had gathered to witness the latest drama.

Craig started to make his way towards Cartman, who seemed to be satisfied that Craig had been humiliated enough. He glanced over his shoulder for one more look at Tweek who was now walking in the opposite direction surrounded by Stan and Kenny.

Cartman - who had seen this last look at Tweek – saw it as one further act of defiance and shook his head

“You need to get your priorities straight Craig” he hissed.

It felt to Craig like a switch had been flicked on inside his head and everything was suddenly bright and clear. Why had he been siding with Cartman – who he hated – over Tweek? He had been miserable for days now and what was it for? To please Cartman?

“You know what Fat Ass, for the first time ever you’re right.” Craig announced. Cartman’s mouth dropped open and he seemed unsure if he had just been complemented or insulted. This didn’t matter though as Craig continued anyway,

“I do need to get my priorities straight…and you aren’t one of them” Craig’s voice was steady as he shook his head. He wondered what on earth he had been thinking over the past few days.

Craig turned around and tried to spot Tweek in the crowd. After a few seconds he saw a scruffy head of blonde hair and knew it was the one he was looking for. As he started to make his way towards it Craig felt a hand grab his arm. This caused a gasp amongst the remaining crowd and also recaptured the attention of the people who had started to leave.

“EH!! Don’t walk away when I’m talking to you! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Cartman spat, tightening his grip on Craig’s arm. Craig ripped his arm away from Cartman and smirked

“I’m doing what I should have done right from the beginning but was too dumb to realise” Craig made his way down the corridor away from Cartman. His eyes scanned the hall and found that Tweek was now looking towards him after noticing the continued commotion.

Craig took a deep breath and made his way towards Tweek. As he approached, Stan and Kenny both stepped in-between them, looking like a pair of bouncers. Craig thought how funny it was that they seemed to think that Tweek needed protecting. If they really knew him they would know that he could probably kick everyone in school’s ass when he was angry.

Tweek pushed his way past but gave them both a grateful smile. Craig stopped when he was a few steps away from Tweek.

“Tweek…” Craig found that his usual inability to say what he needed to was starting to kick in. He looked down and tried to forget about all the people gathered around him. It was now or never, and he knew that, but it didn’t make any of this easier.

“What is it Craig?” Tweek asked in a small voice, genuinely not sure what he was about to hear. Tweek hadn’t heard what had been said after he walked away and wondered if Cartman had told Craig that if he wanted to remain a member of Coon and Friends he would have to break up with Tweek. If Craig didn’t really care about Tweek, as he had said, then it would be an easy decision for him to make.

Craig searched within himself to find the words he wanted to say to Tweek, but they just weren’t there. He knew that he had been standing here too long to have not said anything and it was starting to get awkward – especially with all the spectators.

He couldn’t say what he needed to and he was going to lose Tweek. This realisation scared Craig more than anything ever had before. He felt like his chest was being constricted and for a brief second wondered if this was how Tweek felt before he had a panic attack. He needed to do something!

“F**k it!” Craig declared as he stepped forward towards Tweek. He felt the toes of their shoes meet as he placed his lips against Tweek’s.

There was nothing spectacular about the kiss, it was just a meeting of lips which lasted only a few seconds but for both Tweek and Craig everything stopped. For those few seconds they were the only people on the planet and the world belonged to them.

Craig had closed his eyes and saw flashes of lights like fireworks going off behind his eyelids. He felt the same kind of warmth as when he was wrapped up in bed on a cold, snowy day. In that moment he knew that any suffering or embarrassment he had endured over the last few months was worth it for this, it was worth it for Tweek.

Tweek didn’t have a chance to close his eyes, he was frozen. He felt Craig’s lips against his own but couldn’t believe it, everything felt surreal and dreamlike. This was the moment he had imagined countless times and now it was happening, it felt unreal.

Craig reluctantly pulled himself away and the world came back into focus. He very quickly became aware of the whispers and cooing surrounding him. Craig was amazed to realise that he wasn’t bothered. For the first time in his life he didn’t care what other people thought of him.

He looked at Tweek who still had an expression of shock on his face. Craig couldn’t work out if it was a good look or a bad look. So, he simply said

“Okay?” Hearing Craig’s voice shook Tweek from his daze. Tweek knew that he was too unsteady to answer but he could also see that Craig was looking for reassurance that what had just happened was okay.

Tweek gave the most genuine smile he had even given in his life and nodded his head at Craig. Craig’s shoulders relaxed and any sign of stress was removed from his body. He returned the smile and surrounded Tweek’s hand with his own.

“Shall we walk home together?” he asked becoming very aware of the attention they were still drawing from the other students. Tweek, once again, just nodded his approval of the suggestion.

As they were about to make their way towards the exit a voice cut through the gradually reducing noise behind them.

“Hey! Wait!” the voice belonged to Stan who was stood with Kenny in the nearly empty corridor.

The crowd had more or less disappeared, the urge to get home overwhelming the need to continue watching. Most people were satisfied that what had already taken place would be the highlights anyway.

“This whole war thing has been stupid” he continued “I haven’t been having any fun since we all separated. If I have to play a game that means I can’t spend time with my best friend, then I’m not sure it’s a game worth playing at all”.

“I agree, if we have to stay in two different groups then I don’t want to play anymore” the new addition to the conversation was Kyle, who had been stood behind Craig. Stan smiled at the re-instated support from his best friend.

Spotted around the hallway were all of the Freedom Pals and Coon and Friends. Each one had held their position when the commotion began and stayed around to see the outcome. By this point they had all made their way to where Stan was stood and were expressing their agreement.

The only person who had not joined the group was Cartman. He was still stood apart from everyone with a look of rage on his face. This was not what he had planned. After weighing up the situation Cartman realised that he was defeated and more importantly outnumbered.

“We are much stronger together you guys, we should never have separated in the first place,” Cartman advised, in his best fluffy voice, as he made his way over to join everyone else. Craig gave him a look of disapproval but as everyone else seemed happy enough he didn’t say anything.

Craig decided that, for now, he wasn’t concerned with what happened to the Freedom Pals or the Coon and Friends.

“You guys can sort this out between yourselves – I don’t care. Tweek and I aren’t playing tonight, we’re going home. Right babe?” Craig wanted to check that Tweek was okay with this as he had remained silent for a long time now.

Tweek had barely heard a word that anyone had said since the kiss. He just kept replaying it over and over again in his head. But at the sound of his name he was jolted back to reality. Thankfully he had heard all of Craig’s question and was relieved at the thought of finally leaving – especially as it would be with Craig.

“Right” he smiled, unintentionally squeezing Craig’s hand. As they exited the school they could still hear negotiations taking place behind them but neither one of them had any concern about the outcome.

The first few minutes of the walk home were uncomfortable. Eventually Tweek asked how Stripe had been – knowing that it was the subject Craig liked to talk about most – and the awkwardness disappeared. Once Tweek was up to date with Stripe’s recent activities they continued their walk in a comfortable silence, each just happy to be back in the company of the other.

As they reached Starks Pond Tweek’s hand unexpectedly left Craig’s. The lack of warmth alerted Craig to this and he turned to try and identify why Tweek was not still by his side.

As he swung around he saw that Tweek was stood motionless, just staring at his feet.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, looking around trying to spot any obvious causes of the anxious look that adorned Tweek’s face. After a painfully long wait Tweek looked at Craig and simply said

“You kissed me?”

Craig wasn’t sure if Tweek was looking for an answer, but his tone indicated that he had just asked a question. Craig thought that it was best to answer anyway.

“Yes, I did.” His response was as calm as if he was answering any other everyday question, but his exterior calmness was a huge bluff, his heart had begun to race at a mile a minute. He had known this conversation would have to take place but had thought it would at least wait until they were at his house.

The puzzled look remained on Tweek’s face. He attempted to speak a few times but words didn’t come out. Craig could see that he wanted to say something and knew that he just needed to let Tweek speak in his own time.

Eventually Tweek took a deep breath and said one word

“Why?” Craig could see that Tweek was genuinely confused. He started to panic that maybe Tweek hadn’t actually been okay with the kiss and had just relied on his acting skills to pretend he was in front of everyone else.

On any other day Craig would have just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled an excuse about not knowing why he did it, but today was different. Craig realised that the kiss had been a good start to letting Tweek know how he felt but now he had to use his words.

“I’m no good at this sort of thing so just let me say what I need to say and don’t interrupt,” Craig instructed. Tweek normally would have told Craig not to boss him around but on this occasion he remained compliantly silent.

“I used to think that it was a weakness to care about people. If you didn’t care about anyone or anything then you couldn’t get hurt. I was boring old Craig Tucker and I liked it. But that all changed when I agreed to pretending to be in a relationship with you.”

Tweek couldn’t decided if Craig meant the last part in a good or bad way but he stayed silent as instructed.

“The more time I spent with you, the more I hated the time we were apart. I couldn’t get away from you because you were the first thing I thought of when I opened my eyes in the morning and your face would be the last thing I thought of before I fell asleep. Jesus you even gate-crashed my dreams most nights!” Craig chuckled slightly as he made this revelation.

Tweek could feel his heart overflowing with love. In one way he wanted Craig to stop speaking so he could tell him how much those words meant to him but, in another way, he would have been content to listen to Craig speak for the rest of his life.

“I didn’t know what it all meant at first. I thought that we had just become best friends and it was normal to feel that kind of way. But then I found myself wanting to, you know, kiss you and…well I knew then that it was more than just friendship. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to pretend to be your boyfriend anymore Tweek…I want us to be together for real”.  

Craig felt exhausted. He had never talked for such a long time before and expressing his feelings was draining. Being honest about everything he had so carefully hidden for the last few months was the scariest thing he had ever done. But none of that compared to the nauseous churning he had in his stomach waiting for Tweek’s reaction to his declaration.

If Tweek hadn’t been so overwhelmed with emotion he would have found it funny that the situation was reversed. Usually Craig was the one who couldn’t express how he was feeling whereas Tweek used a thousand words to explain something that could be done in 10.

He swallowed down a happy sob and said

“Craig…I’ve been yours, for real, for a long time now. I just didn’t think that you would ever feel the same way about someone like me. I didn’t want to risk losing you if I told you how I really felt”.

Craig furrowed his eyebrows creating a look of confusion on his face

“What do you mean “someone like you”?” he questioned.

“You know what I mean…everyone knows I’m a spaz and that I’m weird. I must be an embarrassment to you. You’re perfect Craig and you could be with anyone you wanted so I never dreamed that you would pick me”.

Craig walked forward shaking his head and reducing the distance between him and Tweek.

“I’m not perfect…I’m boring! I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. You’re extraordinary Tweek. You’ve had so much shit to deal with but you never let it beat you. If you were stood in a crowd of a thousand people I could always find you, because you freaking shine dude”.

Tweek couldn’t hold back anymore and threw his arms around Craig’s neck, pulling him into a tight embrace. Tweek felt Craig’s arms wrap around his waist and hold him just as tight.

“I love you Craig” he whispered, saying the words out loud for the first time. Craig stepped back slightly and his hands moved from Tweek’s waist up to his face, one hand on each of his cheeks.

“I love you too honey”. There was nothing in the universe more beautiful to Tweek than Craig’s smile and the one on his face at this moment was the most perfect smile he had ever witnessed.

Craig’s thumb gently caressed Tweek’s cheek as he leaned in and met Tweek’s lips with his own. This time Tweek let himself got lost in the kiss. He closed his eyes and once again the world outside the two of them slipped away.

Tweek concentrated on nothing else but the sensation of Craig’s lips caressing his own, they were softer than he could have ever imagined.

After a number of small, gentle kisses Craig pulled himself away and his hands slowly left Tweek’s face, tracing his jawline as they did.

“So, what do we do now?” he asked looking at the boy with the incorrectly buttoned olive shirt and unkept, scruffy blonde hair stood in front of him.

“We could go to your house and play X-box?” Tweek replied. The two boys smiled at each other remembering the first day their relationship had started.

For the rest of their lives, whenever they walked together, the tradition that began the day that Craig stood on the sidewalk and waited for Tweek to join him would continue - they would always hold each other’s hand.


End file.
